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THE 


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RED ROVER 

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BY THE 


author of the pilot, &c. &c. 


“ Ye speak like honest men : pray God ye prove «!** 


IN TWO VOLUMES. 
VOL. h 


A NEW EDITION. 


CAREY, LEA, &, BLANCHARD. 


1836. 


/ 


■'U- 

A 



Eastern District of Pennsylvania^ to toU : 
m******** BE IT REMEMBERED, That on the first day 
* T G I of November, in the fifty-second year of the Indepen- 
$ I dence of the United States of America, A. D. 1827, 
^******** Carey, Lea & Carey, of the said district, have 
deposited in this oflSice, the title of a book, the right whereof 
they claim as proprietors, in the words following, to wit : 

“ The Red Rover, a Tale. By the author of the Pilot, &c. 
&c.” 

“ Ye speak like honest men; pray God ye prove so!” 

In conformity to the act of the Congress of the United States, 
entitled, “ An Act for the encouragement of learning, by se- 
curing the copies of maps, charts, and books, to the authors and 
proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned.” 
And also to the Act, entitled, “ An Act supplementary to an 
Act, entitled, ‘ An Act for the encouragement of learning, by 
securing the copies of maps, charts, and books, to the authors 
and proprietors of such copies, during the times therein men- 
tioned,’ and extending the benefits thereof to the arts of de- 
’ signing, engraving, and etching historical and other prints.” 
P. CALDWELL, Clerk of the 

Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 


TO 

W. B. SHUBRICK, ESQUIRE, 

U. S. NAVY. 

In submitting this hastily-composed and im- 
perfect picture of a few scenes, peculiar to the 
profession, to your notice, dear Shubrick, I 
trust much more to your kind feelings than to 
any merit in the execution. Such as it may 
be, however, the book is offered as another 
tribute to the constant esteem and friendship of 

THE AUTHOR. 


PREFACE 




The Writer felt it necessary, on a former occasion, to stale, 
tliat, in sketching his marine life, he did not deem himself 
obliged to adhere, very closely, to the chronological order of 
nautical improvements. It is believed that no very great viola- 
tion of dates will be found in the following pages. If any keen- 
eyed critic of the ocean, however, should happen to detect a 
rope rove through the wrong leading-block, or a term spelt in 
such a manner as to destroy its true sound, he is admonished of 
the duty of ascribing the circumstances, in charity, to any thing 
but ignorance on the part of a brother. It must be remembered 
that there is an undue proportion of landsmen employed in the 
mechanical as well as the more spiritual part of book-making ; 
a fact which, in itself, accounts for the numberless imperfections 
that still embarrass the respective departments of the occupation. 
In due time, no doubt, a remedy will be found for this crying 
evil; and then the world may hope to see the several branches 
of the trade a little better ordered. The true Augustan ago of 
literature can never exist until works shall be as accurate, in 
their typography, as a “ log book,” and as sententious, in their 
matter, as a “ watch-bill.” 

On the less important point of the materials, which are very 
possibly used to so little advantage in his present effort, the 
Writer does not intend to be very communicative. If their truth 
bo not apparent, by the manner in which he has set forth the 
events in the tale itself, ho must be content to lie under the 
imputation of having disfigured it, by his own clumsiness. All 
testimony must, in the nature of things, resolve itself into three 
great classes — the positive, the negative, and the circumstantial. 
The first and the last are universally admitted to be entitled to 
the most consideration ; since the third can only be resorted to 
in the absence of the two others. Of the positive evidence of 
the verity of its contents, the book itself is a striking proof. It is 
hoped, also, that there is no want of circumstance to support 
this desirable character. .If these two opening points be admit- 
ted, those who may be still disposed to cavil are left to the full 
enjoyment of their negation, with which the Writer wishes them 
just as much success as the question may merit. 


THE 


RED ROVER. 


CHAPTER I. 

Par. “ Mars dote on you for his novices.” 

AWs Well that ends Well 

No one, who is familiar with the bustle and activ- 
ity of an American commercial town, would recog- 
nize, in the repose which now reigns in the ancient 
mart of Rhode Hland, a place that, in its day, has 
been ranked amongst the most important ports along 
the whole line of our extended coast. It would 
€ieem, at the first glance, that nature had expressly 
fashioned the spot to anticipate the wants and to 
realize the wishes of the mariner. Enjoying the 
four great requisites of a safe and commodious haven, 
a placid basin, an outer harbour, and a convenient 
roadstead, with a clear offing, Newport appeared, 
to the eyes of our European ancestors, designed to 
shelter fleets and to nurse a race of hardy and ex- 
pert seamen. Though the latter anticipation has 
not been entirely disappointed, how little has reality 
answered to expectation in respect to the former 
A successful rival has arisen, even in the immediate 
vicinity of this seeming favourite of nature, to defeat 
all the calculations of mercantile sagacity, and to 
add another to the thousand existing evidences “ that 
the wisdom of man is foolishness.” 

There are few towns of any magnitude, within 
our broad territories, in which so little change has 
been effected in half a century as in Newport. Un- 
til the vast resources of the interior were developed, 
A 2 


6 


THE RED ROVER. 


the beautiful island on which it stands was a chosen 
retreat of the affluent planters of the south, from the 
heats and diseases of their burning climate. Here 
they resorted in crowds, to breathe the invigorating 
breezes of the sea. Subjects of the same govern- 
ment, the inhabitants of the Carolinas and of Ja- 
maica met here, in amity, to compare their respective 
habits and policies, and to strengthen each other in 
a common delusion, which the descendants of both, 
in the third generation, are beginning to perceive 
and to regret. 

The communion left, on the simple and unprac- 
tised offspring of the Puritans, its impression both 
of good and evil. The inhabitants of the country, 
while they derived, from the intercourse, a portion 
of that bland and graceful courtesy for which the 
gentry of the southern British colonies were so dis- 
tinguished, did not fail to imbibe some of those pe- 
culiar notions, concerning the distinctions in the 
races of men, for which they are no less remarka- 
ble. Rhode Island was the foremost among the JN^ew- 
England provinces to recede from the manners and 
opinions of their simple ancestors. The first shock 
was given, through her, to that rigid and ungracious 
deportment which was once believed a necessary 
concomitant of true religion, a sort of outward 
pledge of the healthful condition of the inward man ; 
and it was also through her that the first palpable 
departure was-made from those purifying principles 
which might serve as an apology for even far more 
repulsive exteriors. By a singular combination of 
circumstances and qualities, which is, however, no 
less true than perplexing, the merchants of Newport 
were becoming, at the same time, both slave-dealers 
and gentlemen. 

Whatever might have been the moral condition 
of its proprietors at the precise period of 1759, the 
island itself was never more enticing and lovely. Its 


THE RED ROVER- 


7 


swelling crests were still crowned with the wood of 
centuries ; its little vales were then covered with the 
living verdure of the north ; and its unpretending, 
but neat and comfortable villas lay sheltered in 
groves, and embedded in flowers. The beauty and 
fertility of the place gained for it a name which, 
probably, expressed far more than was, at that early 
day, properly understood. The inhabitants of th 
country styled their possessions tlie “Garden of 
America.” Neither were their guests, from the 
scorching plains of the south, reluctant to concede 
so imposing a title to distinction. The appellation 
descended even to our own time; nor was it entire- 
ly abandoned, until the traveller had the means of 
contemplating the thousand broad and lovely vallies 
which, fifty years ago, lay buried in the dense sha- 
dows of the forest. 

The date we have just named was a period fraught 
with the deepest interest to the British possessions 
on this Continent. A bloody and vindictive war, 
which had been commenced in defeat and disgrace, 
was about to end in triumph. France was deprived 
of the last of her possessions on the main, while the 
immense region which lay between the bay of Hud- 
son and the territories of Spain submitted to the 
power of England. The colonists had shared largely 
in contributing to the success of the mother country. 
Losses and contumely, that had been incurred by 
the besotting prejudices of European commanders 
were beginning to be forgotten in the pride of suc- 
cess. The blunders of Braddock, the indolence of 
Loudon, and the impotency of Abercrombie, were 
repaired by the vigour of Amherst, and the genius 
of Wolfe. In every quarter of the globe the arms 
of Britain were triumphant. The loyal provincials 
were among the loudest in their exultations and re- 
joicings ; wilfully shutting their eyes to the scanty 
*-^ped of applause that a powerful people ever re- 


8 


THE RED ROVER. 


luctantly bestows on its dependants, as though love 
of glory, like avarice, increases by its means of in- 
dulgence. 

The system of oppression and misrule, which 
hastened a separation that sooner or later must have 
occurred, had not yet commenced. The mother 
country, if not just, was still complaisant. Like 
all old and great nations, she was indulging in the 
pleasing, but dangerous, enjoyment of self-contem- 
plation. The qualities and services of a race, who 
were believed to be inferior, were, however, soon 
forgotten; or, if remembered, it was in order to be 
misrepresented and vituperated. As this feeling in- 
creased with the discontent of the civil dissensions, 
it led to still more striking injustice, and greater folly* 
Men who, from their observations, should have 
known better, were not ashamed to proclaim, even 
in the highest council of the nation, their ignorance 
of the character of a people with whom they had 
mingled their blood. Self-esteem gave value to the 
opinions of fools. It was under this soothing infatu- 
ation that veterans were heard to disgrace their no- 
ble profession, by boastings that should have been 
hushed in the mouth of a soldier of the carpet ; it 
was under this infatuation that Burgoyne gave, in 
the Commons of England, that memorable promise 
of marching from Quebec to Boston, with a force he 
saw fit to name — a pledge that he afterwards re- 
deemed, by going over the same ground, with twude 
the number of follo\vers, as captives ; and it was 
under this infatuation that England subsequently 
threw away her hundred thousand lives, and lavished 
her hundred millions of treasure. 

The history of that memorable struggle is familiar 
to every American. Content with the knowledge 
that his country triumphed, he is willing to let the 
glorious result take its proper place in the pages of 
history. He sees that her empire rests on a broad 


tHE RED ROVER. 


9 


and natural foundation, which needs no support from 
venal pens ; and, happily for his peace of mind, no 
less than for his character, he feels that the prosper- 
ity of the Republic is not to be sought in the degra- 
dation of surrounding nations. 

Our present purpose leads us back to the period 
of calm which preceded the storm of the Revolu- 
tion. In the early days of the month of October 
1759, Newport, like every other town in America, 
was filled with the mingled sentiment of grief and 
joy. The inhabitants mourned the fall of Wolfe, 
while they triumphed in his victory. Quebec, the 
strong-hold of the Canadas, and the last place of any 
importance held by a people whom they had been 
educated to believe were their natural enemies, had 
just changed its masters. That loyalty to the Crown 
of England, which endured so much before the 
strange principle became extinct, was then at its 
height ; and probably the colonist was not to be found 
who did not, in some measure, identify his own hon- 
our with the fancied glory of the head of the house 
of Brunswick. The day on which the action of our 
tale commences had been expressly set apart to man- 
ifest the sympathy of the good people of the town, 
and its vicinity, in the success of the royal arms. It 
had opened, as thousands of days have opened since, 
with the ringing of bells and the firing of cannon ; 
and the population had, at an early hour, poured into 
the streets of the place, with that determined zeal 
in the cause of merriment, which ordinarily makes 
preconcerted joy so dull an amusement. The cho- 
sen orator of the day had exhibited his eloquence, 
in a sort of prosaic monody in praise of the dead 
hero, and had si^ciently manifested his loyalty, by 
laying the glory, not only of that sacrifice, but all 
that had been reaped by so many thousands of his 
brave companions also, most humbly at the foot of 
the throne. 


10 


THE RED ROVER. 


Content with these demonstrations of their allegi- 
ance, the inhabitants began to retire to their dwell- 
ings, as the sun settled towards those immense re- 
gions which then lay an endless and unexplored wil- 
derness, but which now are teeming with the fruits 
and enjoyments of civilized life. The countrymen 
from the environs, and even from the adjoining main, 
were beginning to turn their faces towards their dis- 
tant homes, with that frugal care which still distin- 
guishes the inhabitants of the country even in the 
midst of their greatest abandonment to pleasures, in 
order that 'the approaching evening might not lead 
them into expenditures which were not deemed ger- 
main to the proper feelings of the occasion. In short, 
the excess of the hour was past, and each individual 
was returning into the sober channels of- his ordina- 
ry avocations, with an earnestness and discretion 
which proved he was not altogether unmindful of 
the time that had been squandered in the display of 
a spirit that he already appeared half disposed to 
consider a little supererogatory. 

The sounds of the hammer, the axe, and the saw 
were again heard in the place ; the windows of more 
than one shop were half opened, as if its owner had 
made a sort of compromise between his interests 
and his conscience; and the masters of the only 
three inns in the town were to be seen standing be- 
fore their doors, regarding the retiring countrymen 
with eyes that plainly betrayed they were seeking 
customers among a people who were always much 
more ready to sell than to buy. A few noisy and 
thoughtless seamen, belonging to the vessels in the 
haven, together with some half dozen notorious tav- 
ern-hunters, were, however, the sole fruits of all 
their nods of recognition, inquiries into the welfare 
of wives and children, and, in some instances, of 
open invitations to alight and drink. 

Worldly care, with a constant, though sometimes 


THE RED ROVER. 


11 


an oblique, look at the future state, formed the great 
characteristic of all that people who then dwelt in 
what were called the provinces of New-England. 
The business of the day, however, was not forgot- 
ten, though it was deemed unnecessary to digest its 
proceedings in idleness, or over the bottle. The 
travellers along the difierent roads that led into the 
interior of the island formed themselves into little 
knots, in which the polijcy of the great national events 
they had just been conimemorating, and the manner 
they had been treated by the different individuals 
selected to take the lead in the offices of the day, 
were freely handled, though still with great defer- 
ence to the established reputations of the distinguish- 
ed parties most concerned. It was every where con- 
ceded, that the prayers, which had been in truth a 
little conversational and historical, were faultless 
and searching exercises ; and, on the whole, (though 
to this opinion there were some clients of an advo- 
cate adverse to the orator, who were moderate dis- 
senters) it was established, that a more eloquent ora- 
tion had never issued from the mouth of man, than 
had that day been delivered in their presence. Pre- 
cisely in the same temper was the subject discussed 
by the workmen on a ship, which was then building 
in the harbour, and which, in the same spirit of pro- 
vincial admiration that has since immortalized so 
many edifices, bridges, and even individuals, within 
their several precincts, was confidently affirmed to 
be the rarest specimen then extant of the nice pro- 
portions of naval architecture! 

Of the orator himself it may be necessar}" to say 
a word, in order that so remarkable an intellectual 
prodigy should fill his proper place in our frail and 
short-lived catalogue of the worthies of that day. 
He was the usual oracle of his neighbourhood, when 
a condensation of its ideas on any great event, like 


12 


THE RED ROVER. 


the one just mentioned, became necessary. His 
learning was justly computed, by comparison, to be 
of the most profound and erudite character; and it 
was very truly affirmed to have astonished more than 
one European scholar, who had been tempted, by a 
fame which, like heat, was only the more intense 
from its being so confined, to grapple with him on 
the arena of ancient literature. He was a man who 
knew how to improve these high gifts to his exclu- 
sive advantage. In but one instance had he ever 
been thrown enough off his guard to commit an act 
that had a tendency to depress the reputation he had 
gained in this manner; and that was, in permitting 
one of his laboured flights of eloquence to be print- 
ed ; or, as his more witty though less successful ri- 
val, the only other lawyer in the place, expressed it, 
in suffering one of his fugitive essays to be caught. 
But even this experiment, whatever might have been 
its effects abroad, served to confirm his renown at 
home. He now stood before his admirers in all the 
dignity of types ; and it was in vain for that misera- 
ble tribe of “ animalculag, who live by feeding on 
the body of genius,” to attempt to undermine a rep- 
utation that was embalmed in the faith of so many 
parishes. The brochure was diligently scattered 
through the provinces, lauded around the tea-pot, 
openly extolled in the prints — by some kindred 
spirit, as was manifest in the striking similarity of 
style — and by one believer, more zealous or perhaps 
more interested than the rest, actually put on board 
the next ship which sailed for “ home,” as England 
was then affectionately termed, enclosed in an en- 
velope which bore an address no less imposing than 
the Majesty of Britian. Its effect on the straight- 
going mind of the dogmatic German, who then fill- 
ed the throne of the Conqueror, was never known, 
though they, who were in the secret of the trans- 


THE RED ROVER. 


13 


mission, long looked, in vain, for the signal reward 
that was to follow so striking an exhibition of human 
intellect. 

Notwithstanding these high and beneficent gifts, 
their possessor was now as unconsciously engaged in 
that portion of his professional labours which bore 
the strongest resemblance to the occupation of a scriv- 
ener, as though nature, in bestowing such rare en- 
dowments, had denied him the phrenological quality 
of self-esteem. A critical observer might, however, 
have seen, or fancied that he saw,*in the forced hu- 
mility of his countenance, certain gleamings of a tri- 
umph that should not properly be traced to the fall 
of Quebec. The habit of appearing meek had, 
however, united with a frugal regard for the precious 
and irreclaimable minutes, in producing this extra- 
ordinary diligence in a pursuit of a character that was 
so humble, when compared with his recent mental 
efforts. 

Leaving this gifted favourite of fortune and nature, 
we shall pass to an entirely different individual, and 
to another quarter of the place. The spot, to which 
we wish now to transport the reader, was neither 
more nor less than the shop of a tailor, who did not 
disdain to perform the most minute offices of his v6- 
cation, in his own heedful person. The humble edi- 
fice stood at no great distance from the water, in the 
skirts of the town, and in such a situation as to en- 
able its occupant to look out upon the loveliness of 
the inner basin, and, through a vista cut by the 
element between islands, even upon the lake-like 
scenery of the out6r harbour, A small, though little 
frequented wharf lay before his door, while a certain 
air of negligence, and the absence of bustle, suffi- 
ciently manifested that the place itself was not the 
immediate site of the much-boasted commercial 
prosperity of the port. 

The afternoon was like a morning in spring, the 
VoL. I. B 


14 


THE RED ROVER. 


breeze which occasionally rippled the basin possess 
ing that peculiarly bland influence which is so often 
felt in the American autumn ; and the worthy me- 
chanic laboured at his calling, seated on his shop- 
board, at an open window, far better satisfied with 
himself than many of those whose fortune it is to be 
placed in state, beneath canopies of velvet and gold. 
On the outer side of the little b bidding, a tall, awk- 
ward, but vigorous and well-formed countryman was 
lounging, with one shoulder placed against the side 
of the shop, as Tf his legs found the task of support- 
ing his heavy frame too grievous to be endured with- 
out assistance, seemingly in waiting for the comple- 
tion of the garment at which the other toiled, and 
with which he intended to adorn the graces of his 
person, in an adjoining parish, on the succeeding 
sabbath. 

In order to render the minutes shorter, and, possi- 
bly, in indulgence to a powerful propensity to talk, 
of which he who wielded the needle was somewhat 
the subject, but few of the passing moments were 
suffered to escape without a word from one or the 
other of the parties. As the subject of their dis- 
course had a direct reference to the principal matter 
of our tale, we shall take leave to give such portions 
of it to the reader as we deem most relevant to a 
clear exposition of that which is to follow. The 
latter will always bear in mind, that he who worked 
was a man drawing into the wane of life; that he 
bore about him the appearance of one who, either 
from incompetency or from ^ome fatality of fortune, 
had been doomed to struggle through the world, 
keeping poverty from his residence only by the aid 
of great industry and rigid frugality ; and that the 
idler was a youth of an age and condition that the 
acquisition of an entire set of habiliments formed to 
him a sort of era in his adventures. 

“ Yes,” exclaimed the indefatigable shaper of 


THE RED ROVER. 


15 


cloth, with a species of sigh which might have been 
equally construed into an evidence of the fulness of 
his mental enjoyment, or of the excess of his bodily 
labours ; “ yes, smarter sayings have seldom fallen 
from the lips of man, than such as the squire pour’d 
out this very day. When he spoke of the plains of 
father Abraham, and of the smoke and thunder of 
the battle. Pardon, it stirred up such stomachy feel- 
ings in my bosom, that I verily believe I could have 
had the heart to throw aside the thimble, and go 
forth myself, to seek glory in battling in the cause of 
the King.” 

The youth, whose Christian or * given’ name, as it 
is even now generally termed in New-England, had 
been intended, by his pious Sponsors, humbly to ex- 
press his future hopes, turned his head towards the 
heroic tailor, with an expression of drollery about 
the eye, that proved nature hs^d not been niggardly 
in the gift of humour, however the quality was sup- 
pressed by the restraints of a very peculiar manner, 
and no less peculiar education. 

“ There’s an opening now, neighbour Homespun, 
for an ambitious man,” he said, “sin’ his IVIajesty has 
lost his stoutest general.” 

“ Yes, yes,” returned the individual who, either 
in his youth or in his age, had made so capital a 
blunder in the choice of a profession, “ a fine and 
promising chance it is for one who counts but five- 
and-twenty; most of my day has gone by, and I 
must spend the rest of it here, where you see me, 
between buckram and osnaburghs — who put the dye 
into your cloth, Pardy ? it is the best laid-in bark 
I’ve fingered this fall.” 

“ Let the old woman alone for giving the lasting 
colour to her web ; I’ll engage, neighbour Home- 
spun, provided you furnish the proper fit, there’ll 
not be a better dress’d lad on the island than my own 
mother’s son ! But, sin’ you cannot be a general 


16 


trtE RED ROVER* 


good-man, yoa’ll have the comfort of knowing 
there’ll be no more lighting without you. Every 
body agrees the F rench won’t hold out much longer, 
and then we must have a peace for want of enemies.” 

“ So best, so best, boy ; for one, who has seen so 
much of the horrors of war as I, knows how to put 
a rational value on the blessings of tranquillity!” 

“ Then you ar’n’t altogether unacquainted, good- 
man, with the new trade you thought of setting up ?” 

“ I ! I have been through five long and bloody 
wars, and I’ve reason to thank God that I’ve gone 
through them all without a scratch so big as this 
needle would make. Five long and bloody, ay, and 
I may say glorious wars, have I liv’d through in 
I” 

“ A perilous time it must have been for you, neigh- 
bour. But I don’t remember to have heard of more 
than two quarrels with the Frenchmen in my day.” 

“ You are but a boy, compared to one who has 
seen the end of his third score of years. Here is 
this war that is now so likely to be soon ended — 
Heaven, which rules all things in wisdom, be praised 
for the same ! Then there was the business of ’45, 
when the bold Warren sailed up and down our 
coasts; a scourge to his •Majesty’s enemies, and a 
safeguard to all the loyal subjects. Then, there was 
a business in Garmany, concerning which we had 
awful accounts of battles fou’t, in which men were 
mowed down like grass falling before the scythe of a 
strong arm. That makes three. The fourth was 
the rebellion of ’15, of which I pretend not to have 
seen much, being but a youth at the time ; and the 
fifth was a dreadful rumour, that was spread through 
the provinces, of a general rising among the blacks 
and Indians, which was to sweep all us Christians 
into eternity at a minute’s warning !” 

“Well, I had always reckoned you for a home- 
staying and a peaceable man, neighbour returned 


THE RED ROVER. 17 

the admiring countryman ; “ nor did I ever dream 
tliat you had seen such serious movings.” 

I have not boasted, Pardon, or I might have ad- 
ded other heavy matters to the list. There was a 
great struggle in the East, no longer than the year 
’32, for the Persian throne. You have read of the 
laws of the Medes and the Persians : Well, for the very 
throne that gave forth those unalterable laws v/as 
there a frightful struggle, in which blood ran like 
water ; but, as it was not in Christendom, 1 do not 
account it among my own experiences \ though 1 
might have spoken of the Porteous mob with great 
reason, as it took place in another portion of the 
very kingdom in which I lived.” 

“ You must have journeyed much, and been stii - 
ring late and early, good-man, to have seen all these 
things, and to have got no harm.” 

“ Yes, yes, I’ve been something of a traveller too, 
Pardy. Twice have I been over land to Boston, 
and once have 1 sailed through the Great Sound of 
Long Island, down to the town of York. It is an 
awful undertaking the latter, as it respects the dis- 
tance, and more especially because it is needful to 
pass a place that is likened, by its name, to the en- 
trance of Tophet.” 

“ I have often heard the spot call’d ‘ Hell Gate’ 
spoken of, and I may say, too, that I know a man 
rvell who has been through it twice ; once in going to 
York, and once in coming homeward.” 

“ He had enough of it, as I’ll engage ! Did he tell 
you of the pot which tosses and roars as if the big- 
gest of Beelzebub’s fires was burning beneath, and 
of the hog’s-back over which the water pitches, as 
it may tumble over the Great Falls of the West! 
Owing to reasonable skill in our seamen, and un- 
common resolution in the passengers, we happily 
made a good time of it, through ourselves ; though, 
1 care not who knows it, I will own it is a severe trial 


18 


THE RED ROVER. 


to the courage to enter that 'same dreadful Strait. 
We cast out our anchors at certain islands, which 
lie a few furlongs this side the place, and sent the 
pinnace, with the captain and two stout seamen, to 
reconnoitre the spot, in order to see if it were in a 
peaceful state or not. The report being favourable, 
the passengers were landed, and the vessel was got 
through, by the blessing of Heaven, in safety. We 
had all reason to rejoice that the prayers of the con- 
gregation were asked before we departed from the 
peace and security of our homes !” 

“ You journeyed round the ‘Gate’ on foot?” — de- 
manded the attentive boor. 

“ Certain ! It would have been a sinful and a blas- 
phemous tempting of Providence to have done other- 
wise, seeing that our duty called us to no. such sa- 
crifice. But dll Uiat danger is gone by, and so I trust 
will that of this bloody war, in which we have both 
been actors ; and then I humbly hope his sacred 
Majesty will have leisure to turn his royal mind to 
the pirates who infest the coast, and to order some 
of his stout naval captains to mete out to the rogues 
the treatment they are so fond of giving unto others. 
It would be a joyful sight to my old eyes to see the 
famous and long-hunted Red Rover brought into this 
very port, towing at the poop of a King’s cruiser.” 

“And is it a desperate villain, he of whom you 
now make mention?” 

“ He ! There are many he’s in that one lawless 
ship, and bloody-minded and nefarious thieves are 
they, to the smallest boy. It is heart-searching and 
grievous, Pardy, to hear of their evil-doings on the 
high seas of the King !” 

“ I have often heard mention niade of the Rover,” 
returned the countryman ; “ but never to enter into 
any of the intricate particulars of his knavery.” 

“ How should you, boy, who live up in the country, 
know so much of what is passing on the great deep, 


19 


Tiifi r£d RoVfin. 

as we who dwell in a port that is so much resorted 
to by mariners ! I am fearful you’ll be making it 
late home, Pardon,” he added, glancing his eye at 
certain lines drawn on his shop-b^oard, by the aid of 
which he was enabled to note the progress of the 
setting sun. “ It is drawing towards the hour of five, 
and you have twice that number of miles to go, be- 
fore you can, by any manner of means, reach the 
nearest boundary of your father’s farm.” 

“ The road is plain, and the people honest,” re- 
turned the countryman, who cared not if it were 
midnight, provided he could be the bearer of tidings 
of some dreadful sea robbery to the ears of those 
whom he well knew would JLlirong around him, at 
his return, to hear the tidings from the port. “ And 
is he, in truth, so much feared and sought for, as 
people say ?” 

“ Is he sought for ! Is Tophet sought by a praying 
Christian ? Few there are on the mighty deep, let 
them even be as stout for battle as was Joshua the 
great Jewish captain, that would not rather behold 
the land tlian see the top-gallants of that wicked 
pirate ! Men fight for glory. Pardon, as I may say I 
have seen, after living through so many wars, but 
none love to meet an enemy who hoists a bloody flag 
at the first blow, and who is ready to cast both par- 
ties into the air, when he finds the hand of Satan has 
no longer power to help him.” 

“ If the rogue is so desperate,” returned the youth 
straightening his powerful limbs, with a look of rising 
jiride, “ why do not the Island and the Plantations 
fit out a coaster in order to bring him in, that he 
might get a sight of a wholesome gibbet ? Let the 
drum b€;at on such a message through our neighbour- 
hood, and I’ll engage that it don’t leave it without 
one volunteer at least.” 

“ So much for not having seen war ! Of what use 
would flails and pitch-forks prove against men who 


20 


THE RED ROVER. 


have sold themselves to the devil ? Often has the 
Rover been seen at night, or just as the sun has been 
going down, by the King’s cruisers, who, having 
fairly surrounded the thieves, had good reason to be- 
lieve that they had tliem already in the bilboes ; but, 
when the morning has come, the prize was vanished, 
by fair means or by foul !” 

“And are the. villains so bloody-minded that they 
are called ‘ Red?’ ” 

“ Such is the title of their leader,” returned the 
worthy tailor, who by this time was swelling with 
the importance of possessing so interesting a legend 
to communicate ; “ and such is also the name they 
give to his vessel ; because no man, who has put 
foot on board her, has ever come back to say that 
she has a better or a w^e ; that is, no honest mari- 
ner or lucky voyager. Tt^se^hm is of the size of a 
King’s sloop, they say, and of*‘hke equipments and 
form ; but she has miraculously es<^aped from the 
hands of many a gallant frigate ; and once, it is whis- 
pered, for no loyal subject would like to say such a 
scandalous thing openly. Pardon, that she lay under 
the guns of a fifty for an hour, and seemingly, to all 
eyes, she sunk like hammered lead to the bottom. 
But, just as every body was shaking hands, and wish- 
ing his neighbour joy at so happy a punishment com- 
ing over the knaves, a West-Indiaman came into 
port, that had been robbed by the Rover on the 
morning after the night in which it was thought they 
had all gone into eternity together. And what makes 
the matter worse, boy, while the King’s ship was 
careening with her keel out, to stop the holes of can- 
non balls, the pirate was sailing up and down the 
coast, as sound as the day that the wrights first turn- 
ed her from their hands !” 

“Well, this is unheard of!” returned the country- 
man, on whom the tale was beginning to make a 
sensible impression : “ Is she a well-turned and come- 


THE RED ROVER. 


21 


ly ship to the eye ? or is it by any means certain that 
she is an actual living vessel at all 

“ Opinions differ. Some say, yes ; some say, no. 
But I am well acquainted with a man who travelled 
a week in company with a mariner, who passed with- 
in a hundred feet of her, in a gale of wind. Lucky 
it was for them, that the hand of the Lord was felt 
so powerfully on the deep, and that the Rover had 
enough to do to keep his own ship from foundering. 
The acquaintance of my friend had a good view of 
both vessel and captain, therefore, in perfect safety, 
fie said, that the pirate was a man may-be half as 
big again as the tall preacher ovqr on the main, with 
hair of the colour of the sun in a fog, and eyes that 
no man would like to look upon a second time. He 
saw him as plainly as I see you ; for the knave stood 
in the rigging of his ship, beckoning, with a hand as 
big as a coat-flap, for the honest trader to keep ofl*, 
in order that the two vessels might not do one an- 
other damage by coming foul.” 

“ He was a bold mariner, that trader, to go so nigh 
such a merciless rogue.” 

“ I warrant 3^011, Pardon, it was desperately against 
his will ! But it was on a night so dark — ” 

“Dark!” interrupted the other; by what contri- 
vance then did he manage to see so well ?” 

“ No man can say !” answered the tailor, “ but see 
he did, just in the manner, and the very things I have 
named to you. More than that, he took good note 
of the vessel, that he might know her, if chance, or 
Providence, should ever happen to throw her again 
into his way. She was a long, black ship, lying low 
in the water, like a snake in the grass, with a des- 
perate wicked look, and altogether of dishonest di- 
mensions. Then, every body says that she appears 
to sail faster than the clouds above, seeming to care 
little which way the wind blows, and that no one is 
a jot safer from her speed than her honesty. Ac- 


22 


THE RED ROVER. 


cording to all that I have heard, she is something 
such a craft as yonder slaver, that has been lying the 
week past, the Lord knows why, in our outer har- 
bour.” 

As the gossipping tailor had necessarily lost many 
precious moments, in relating the preceding history, 
he now set about redeeming them with' the utmost 
diligence, keeping time to the rapid movement of his 
needle-hand, by corresponding jerks of his head and 
shoulders. In the meanwhile, the bumpkin, whose 
wondering mind was by this time charged nearly to 
bursting with what he had heard, turned his look 
towards the vessel the other had point^'d out, in 
order to get the only image that \vas now required, 
to enable him to do fitting credit to so moving a tale, 
suitably engraved on his imagination. There was 
necessarily a pause, while the respective parties 
were thus severally occupied. It was suddenly 
broken by the tailor, who clipped the thread with 
which he had just finished the garment, cast every 
thing from his hands, threw his spectacles upon his 
forehead, and, leaning his arms on his kness in 
such a manner as to form a perfect labyrinth with 
the limbs, he stretched his body forw^ard so far as to 
lean out of the window, riveting his eyes also on the 
ship, which still attracted the gaze of his companion. 

“Do you know, Pardy,” he said, “that strange 
thoughts and cruel misgivings have come over me 
concerning that very vessel? They say she is a 
slaver come in for wood and water, and there she 
has been a week, and not a stick bigger than an oar 
has gone up her side, and Pll engage that ten drops 
from Jamaica have gone on board her, to one from 
the spring. Then you may see she is anchored in 
such a w^ay that but one of the guns from the bat- 
tery can touch her ; whereas, had she been a real 
timid trader, she would naturally have got into a 
place where, if a straggling picaroon should come 


THE RED ROVER. 23 

into the port, he would have found her in the very 
hottest of the fire.” 

“ You have an ingenious turn with you, good- 
man,” returned the wondering countryman ; “now, 
a ship might have lain on the battery island itself, 
and I would have hardly noticed the thing.” 

“ ’Tis use and experience. Pardon, that makes 
men of us all. I should know something of batteries, 
having seen so many wars, and I served a campaign 
of a week, in that Very fort, when the rumour came 
that the French were sending cruisers from Louis- 
burg down the coast. For that matter, my duty was 
to stand sentinel over that very cannon ; and, if 1 
have done the thing once, I have twenty times 
squinted along the piece, to see in what quarter it 
would send its shot, provided such a calamity should 
arrive as that it might become necessary to fire it, 
loaded with real warlike balls.” 

“ And who are these ?” demanded Pardon, with 
that species of sluggish curiosity which had been 
awakened by the wonders related by the other: 
“ Are these mariners of the slaver, or are they idle 
Newporters ?” 

“ Them !” exclaimed the tailor ; “ sure enough, 
they are new-comers, and it may be well to have a 
closer look at them in these troublesome times ! Here, 
Nab, take the garment, and press down the seams, 
you idle hussy ; for neighbour Hopkins is straitened 
for time, while your tongue is going like a young 
lawyer’s in a justice court. Don’t be sparing of your 
elbow, girl ; for it’s no India muslin that you’ll have 
under the iron, but cloth that would do to side a 
house with. Ah ! your mother’s loom, Pardy, robs 
the seamster of many an honest job.” 

Having thus transferred the remainder of the job 
from his own hands to those of an awkward, pouting 
girl, who was compelled to abandon her gossip with 
a neighbour, in order to obey his injunctions, he 


24 


THE RED ROVER. 


quickly removed his ovvm person, notwithstanding 
a miserable limp with which he had come into the 
world, from the shop-board to the open air. As 
more important characters are, however, about to be 
introduced to the reader, we shall defer the ceremo- 
ny to the opening of another chapter. 

CHAPTER II. 

Sir Tobv. “Excellent ! I smell a device.” 

Ttoelfth JVight. 

The strangers were three in number ; for stran 
gers the good-man Plomespun, who knew not only 
the names but most of the private history of every 
man and woman within ten miles of his own resi- 
dence, immediately proclaimed them^-to be, in a 
whisper to his companion ; and strangers, too, of a 
mysterious and threatening aspect. In order that 
others may have an opportunity of judging of the 
probability of the latter conjecture, it becomes ne- 
cessary that a more minute account should be given 
of the respective appearances of these individuals, 
who, unhappily for their reputations, had the mis- 
fortune to be unknown to the gossipping tailor of 
Newport. 

The one, by far the most imposing in his general 
mien, was a youth who had apparently seen some 
six or seven-and-twenty seasons. That those sea- 
sons had not been entirely made of sunny days, and 
nights of repose, was betrayed by the tinges of brown 
which had been laid on his features, layer after lay- 
er, in such constant succession, as to have changed, 
to a deep olive, a complexion which had once been 
fair, and through which the rich blood was still man- 
tling with the finest glow of vigorous health. His 
features were rather noble and manly, than distin- 


THE RED ROVER. 


25 


guished for their exactness and symmetry ; his nose 
being far more bold and prominent than regular in 
its form, with his brows projecting, and sufficiently 
marked to give to the whole of the superior parts of 
his face that decided intellectual expression which 
is already becoming so common to American physi- 
ognomy. The mouth was firm and manly ; and, 
while he muttered to himself, with a meaning smile, 
as the curious tailor drew slowly nigher, it discovered 
a set of glittering teeth, that shone the brighter from 
being cased in so dark a setting. The hair was a jet 
black, in thick and confused ringlets ; the eyes were 
very little larger than common, gray, and, though 
evidently of a changing expression, rather leaning to 
mildness than severity. The form of this young man 
was of that happy size which so singularly unites 
activity with strength. It seemed to be well knit, 
while it was justly proportioned, and strikingly 
graceful. Though these several personal qualifica- 
tions were exhibited under the disadvantages of the 
perfectly simple, though neat and rather tastefully 
disposed, attire of a common mariner, they were 
sufficiently imposing to cause the suspicious dealer 
in buckram to hesitate before he would venture to 
address the stranger, whose eye appeared riveted, 
by a species of fascination, on the reputed slaver in 
the outer harbour. A curl of the upper lip, and an- 
other strange smile, in which scorn was mingled 
with his mutterings, decided the vacillating mind of 
the good-man. Without venturing to disturb a rev- 
erie that seemed so profound, he left the youth lean- 
ing against the head of the pile where he had long 
been standing, perfectly unconscious of the presence 
of any intruder, and turned a little hastily to exam- 
ine the rest of the party. 

One of the remaining two was a white man, and 
the other a negro. Both had passed the middle age. ; 
and both, in their appearances, furnishec the strong- 
VOL. I. 


26 THE RED ROVER. % 

est proofs of long exposure to the severity of climate, 
and to numberless tempests. They were dressed in 
the plain, weather-soiled, and tarred habiliments of 
common seamen, and bore about their several per- 
sons all, the other unerring evidences of their pecu- 
liar profession. The former was of a short, thick- 
set, powerful frame, in which, by a happy ordering 
of nature, a little confirmed perhaps by long habit, 
the strength was principally seated about the broad 
and brawny shoulders, and strong sinewy arms, as if, 
in the construction of the man, the inferior members 
had been considered of little other use than to trans- 
fer the superior to the different situations in which 
the former were to display their energies. His head 
was in proportion to the more immediate members ; 
the forehead low, and nearly covered with hair ; the 
eyes small, obstinate, sometimes fierce, and often 
dull ; the nose snub, coarse, and vulgar ; the mouth 
large and voracious ; the teeth short, clean, and per- 
fectly sound ; and the chin broad, manly, and even 
expressive. This singularly constructed personage 
had taken his seat on an empty barrel, and, with 
folded arms, he sat examining the often-mentioned 
slaver, occasionally favouring his .companion, the 
black, with such remarks as were suggested by his 
observation and great experience. 

The negro occupied a more humble post; one 
better suited to his subdued habits and inclinations. 
In stature, and the peculiar -division of animal force, 
there was a great resemblance between the two, with 
the exception that the latter enjoyed the advantage 
in height, and even in proportions. While nature 
had stamped on his lineaments those distinguishing 
marks which characterize the race from which h^ 
sprung, she had not done it to that revolting degree 
to which her displeasure against that stricken people 
is often carried. His features were more elevated 
than common; his eye was mild, easily excited to 


THE RED ROVER. 


57 


joy, and, like that of his companion, sometimes hu- 
morous. His head was beginning to be sprinkled 
with gra}", his skin had lost the shining jet colour 
which had distinguished it in his youth, and all his 
limbs and movements bespoke a man whos§ frame 
had been equally indurated and stiffened by unre- 
mitted toil. He sat on a low stone, and seemed in- 
tently employed in tossing pebbles into the air, and 
shewing his dexterity by catching them in the hand 
from which they had Just been cast; an amusement 
which betrayed alike the natural tendency of his mind 
to seek pleasure in trifles, and the absence of those 
more elevating feelings which are the fruits of edu- 
cation. The process, however, furnished a striking 
exhibition of the physical force of the negro. In 
order to conduct this trivial pursuit without incum- 
brance, he had rolled the sleeve of his light canvas 
jacket to the elbow, and laid bare an arm that might 
have served as a model for the limb of Hercules. 

There was certainly nothing sufficiently imposing 
about the persons of either of these individuals to 
repel the investigations of one as much influenced 
by curiosity as our tailor. Instead, however, of yield- 
ing directly to the strong impulse, the honest shaper 
of cloth chose to conduct his advance in a manner 
that should afford to the bumpkin a striking proof 
of his boasted sagacity. After making a sign of cau- 
tion and intelligence to the latter, he approached 
slowly from behind, with a light step, that might 
give him an opportunity of overhearing any secret 
that should unwittingly fall from either of the sea- 
men. His forethought was followed by no very im- 
portant results, though it served to supply his suspi- 
cions with all the adiditional testimony of the treach- 
ery of their characters that could be furnished by 
evidence so simple as the mere sound of their voices. 
As to the words themselves, though the good-man 
believed they might well contain treason, he was 


28 


THE RED ROVER. 


. compelled to acknowledge to himself that it was so 
artfully concealed as to escape even his acute capa- 
city. We leave the reader himself to judge of the 
correctness of both opinions. 

“ This IS a pretty bight of a basin, Guinea,” ob- 
served the white, rolling his tobacco in his mouth, 
and turning his eyes, for the first time in many min- 
utes, from the vessel; ‘‘ and a spot is it that a man, 
who lay on a lee-shore without sticks, might be glad 
to see his craft in. Now do 1 call myself something 
of a seaman, and yet 1 cannot weather upon the 
philosophy of that fellow, in keeping his ship in the 
outer harbour, when he might warp her into this 
mill-pond in half an hour. It gives his boats hard 
duty, dusky S’ip ; and that 1 call making foul weather 
of fair !” 

The negro had been christened Scipio Africanus, 
by a species of witticism which was much more 
common to the Provinces than it is to the States of 
America, and which filled so many of the meaner 
employments of the country, in name at least, with 
the counterparts of the philosophers, heroes, poets, 
and princes of Rome. To him it was a matter of 
small moment, whether the vessel lay in the offing 
or in the port ; and, without discontinuing his child- 
ish amusement, he manifested the same, by replying, 
with great indifference of manner, — 

“ I s’pose he t’ink all the water inside lie on a 
top.” ' 

“ I tell you, Guinea,” returned the other, in a 
harsh, positive tone, “ the fellow is a know-nothing ! 
Would any man, who understands the behaviour of 
a ship, keep his craft in a roadstead, when he might 
tie her, head and stern, in a basin Iffie this ?” 

‘‘ What he call roadstead ?” interrupted the negro, 
seizing at once, with the avidity of ignorance, on the 
little oversight of his adversary, in confounding the 
outer harbour of Newport with the wilder anchorage 


THE RED ROVER. 


2y 

below, and with the usual indifference of all similar 
people to the more material matter of whether the 
objection was at all germain to the point in contro- 
versy ; “ I never hear ’em call anchoring ground, with 
land around it, roadstead afore !” 

“ Hark ye, mister Gold-coast,” muttered the white, 
bending his head aside in a threatening maimer, 
though he still disdained to turn his eyes on his hum- 
ble adversary, “if you’ve no wish to wear your shins 
parcelled for the next month, gather in the slack of 
your wit, and have an eye to the manner in which 
you let it run again. Just tell me this ; isn’t a port 
a port ? and isn’t an offing an offing ?” 

As these were two propositions to which even 
the ingenuity of Scipio could raise no objection, he 
wisely declined touching on either, contenting him- 
self with shaking his head in great self-complacen- 
cy, and laughing as heartily, at his imaginary triumph 
over his companion, as though he had never known 
care, nor been the subject of wrong and humiliation, 
so long and so patiently endured. 

“ Ay, ay,” grumbled the white, re-adjusting his 
person in its former composed attitude, and again 
crossing the arms, which had been a little separated, 
to give force to the menace against the tender mem- 
ber of the black, “ now you are piping the wind out 
of your throat like a flock of long-shore crows, you 
think you’ve got the best of the matter. The Lord 
made a nigger an unrational animal ; and an experi- 
enced seaman, who has doubled both Capes, and 
made all the head-lands atween Fundy and Horn, has 
no right to waste his breath in teaching any of the 
breed ! I tell you, Scipio, since Scipio is your name 
on the ship’s books, though I’ll wager a month’s pay 
against a wooden boat-hook that your father was 
known at home as Quashee, and your mother as 
Quasheeba — therefore do I tell you, Scipio Africa — 
which is a name for all your colour, I believe — that 


30 


THE RED ROVER. 


yonder chap, in the outer harbour of this here sea 
port, is no judge of an anchorage, or Ije would drop 
a hedge mayhap hereaway, in a line with the south- 
ern end of that there small matter of an island, and, 
hauling his ship up to it, fasten her to the spot with 
good hempen cables and iron mud-hooks. Now, look 
you here, S’ip, at the reason of the matter,” he con- 
tinued, in a manner which shewed that the little skir- 
mish that had just passed was like one of those sud- 
den squalls of which they had both seen so many, and 
which were usually so soon succeeded by correspond- 
ing seasons of calm ; “ look you at the whole ration- 
ality of what I say. He has come into this anchorage 
cither for something or for nothing. I suppose you 
are ready to admit that. If for nothing, he might 
have found that much outside, and I’ll say no more 
about it ; but if for something, he could get it off 
easier, provided the ship lay hereaway, just w here 
1 told you, boy, not a fathom ahead or astern, than 
where she is now riding, though the article was no 
heavier than a fresh handful of feathers for the cap- 
tain’s pillow. Now, if you have any thing to gainsay 
the reason of this, why. I’m ready to hear it as a 
reasonable man, and one who has not forgotten his 
manners in learning his philosophy.” 

“S’pose a wund come out fresh here, at nor-west,” 
answered the other, stretching his brawny arm to- 
wards the point of the compass he named, “ and a 
vessel want to get to sea in a hurry, how you t’ink 
hp get her far enough up to lay through the w^eather 
reach ? Ha ! you answer me dat ; you great scholar, 
misser Dick, but you never see ship go in wind’s 
te 'th, or hear a monkey talk.” 

The black is right !” exclaimed the youth, who, 
it would seem, had overheard the dispute, while he 
appeared otherwise engaged; “the slaver has left 
his vessel in the outer harbour, knowing that the 
wind holds so much to the westward at this season 


THE RED ROVER. 


SI 


of the year ; and then you see he keeps his light 
spars aloft, although it is plain enough, by the man- 
ner in which his sails are furled, that he is strong- 
handed. Can you make out, boys, whether he has 
an anchor under foot, or is he merely riding by a 
single cable 

“ The man must be a driveller, to lie in such a 
tides-way, without dropping his stream, or at least a 
hedge, to steady the ship,” returned the white, with- 
out appearing to think any thing more than the re- 
ceived practice of seamen necessary to decide the 
point. “ That he is no great judge of an anchorage, I 
am ready to allow ; but no man, who can keep things 
so snug aloft, would think of fastening his ship, for 
any length of time, by a single cable, to sheer star- 
board and port, like that kicking colt, tied to the tree 
by a long halter, that we fell in with, in our passage 
dver land from Boston.” 

“ ’Em got a stream down, and all a rest of he 
anchors stowed,” said the black, whose dark eye 
was glancing understandingly at the vessel, while he 
still continued to cast his pebbles into the air: 
“ S’pose he jam a helm hard a-port, misser Harry, 
and take a tide on he larboard bow, what you t’ink 
make him kick and gallop about ! Golly ! I like to 
see Dick, without a foot-rope, ride a colt tied to 
tree !” 

Again the negro enjoyed his humour, by shaking 
his head, as if his whole soul was amused by the 
whimsical image. his rude fancy had conjured, and 
indulged in a hearty laugh ; and again his white 
companion muttered certain exceedingly heavy and 
sententious denunciations. The young man, who 
seemed to enter very little into the quarrels and wit- 
ticisms of his singular associates, still kept his gaze 
intently fastened on the vessel, which to him appear- 
ed, for the moment, to be the subject of some extra- 
ordinary interest. Shaking his own head, though in 


32 


THE RED ROVER- 


a far graver manner, as if his doubts were drawing 
to a close, he added, as the boisterous merriment of 
the negro ceased, — 

“Yes, Scipio, you are right: he rides altogether 
by his stream, and he keeps every thing in readiness 
for a sudden move. In ten minutes he would carry 
his ship beyond the tire of the battery, provided he 
had but a capful of wind.” 

“You appear to be a judge in these matters,” 
said an unknown voice behind him. 

The youth turned suddenly on his heel, and then, 
for the first time, was he apprised of the presence 
any intruders. The surprise, however, was not 
confined to himself ; for^, as there was another new- 
comer to be added to the company, the gossipping 
tailor was quite as much, or even more, the subject 
of astonishment, than any of that party, whom he 
had been so intently watching as to have prevented 
him from observing the approach of still another 
utter stranger. 

The third individual was a man between thirty 
and forty, and of a mien and attire not a little adapt- 
ed to quicken the already active curiosity of the 
good-man Homespun. His person was slight, but 
afforded the promise of exceeding agility, and even 
of vigour, especially when contrasted with his stat- 
ure, which was scarcely equal to the medium height 
of man. His skin had been dazzling as that of wo- 
man, though a deep red, which had taken possession 
of the lower lineaments of his face, and which was 
particularly conspicuous on the outline of a fine 
aquiline nose, served to destroy all appearance of 
effeminacy. His hair was like his complexion, fair, 
and fell about his temples in ricli, glossy, and exu- 
berant curls. His mouth and chin were beautiful in 
their formation ; but the former was a little scornful, 
and the two together bore a decided character of 
voluptuousness. The eye was blue, full without 


THE RED ROVER. 


33 


being prominent, and, though in common placid and 
even soft, there were moments when it seemed a 
little unsettled and wild. He wore a high conical 
hat, placed a little on one side, so as to give a slight- 
ly rakish expression to his physiognomy, a riding 
frock of light green, breeches of buck-skin, high 
boots, and spurs. In one of his hands he carried a 
small whip, with which, when first seen, he was cut- 
ting the air with an appearance of the utmost indif- 
ference to the surprise occasioned by his sudden in- 
terruption. 

“ I say, sir, you seem to be a judge in these mat- 
ters,” he repeated, when he had endured the frown- 
ing examination of the young seaman quite as long 
as comported with his own patience ; “ you speak 
like a man who feels he has a right to give an opin- 
ion !” 

Do you find it remarkable that one should not 
be ignorant of a profession that he has diligently 
pursued for a whole life 

“ Hum ! 1 find it a little remarkable, that one, 
whose business is that of a handicraft, should dignify 
his trade with such a sounding name as profession. 
We of the learned science of the law, and who en- 
joy the particular smiles of the learned universities, 
can say no more !” 

“ Then call it trade ; for nothing in common with 
gentlemen of your craft is acceptable to a seaman,” 
retorted the young mariner, turning away from the 
intruder with a disgust that he did not affect to con- 
ceal. 

“ A lad of some metal !” muttered the otlier, with 
a rapid utterance and a meaning smile. “ Let not 
such a trifle as a word part us, friend. I confess my 
ignorance of all maritime matters, and would gladly 
learn a little from one as skilful as yourself in the 
noble — profession. I think you said something con- 
cerning the manner in which yonder ship has an- 


34 


THE RED ROVER. 


chored, and of the condition in which they keep 
things alow and aloft?” 

More and aloft !” exclaimed the young sailor, 
facing his interrogator with a stare that was quite as 
expressive as his recent disgust. 

“ Alow and aloft !” calmly repeated the other. 

“ I spoke of her neatness aloft, but do not affect 
to judge of things below at this distance.” 

“ Then it was my error; but you will have pity 
on the ignorance of one who is so new to the pro- 
fession. As I have intimated, I am no more than 
an unworthy barrister, in the service of his Majesty, 
expressly sent from home on a particular errand. If 
it were not a pitiful pun, I might add, I am not yet— 
a judge.” 

“No doubt you will soon arrive at that distinc- 
tion,” returned the other, “ if his Majesty’s ministers 
have any just conceptions of modest merit ; unless, 
indeed, you should happen to be prematurely” 

The youth bit his lip, made a haughty inclination 
of the head, and walked leisurely up the wharf, fol- 
lowed, with the same appearance of deliberation, 
by the two seamen who had accompanied him in his 
visit to the place. The stranger in green watched 
the whole movement with a calm and apparently an 
amused eye, tapping his boot with his whip, and seem 
ing to reflect like one who would willingly find means 
to continue the discourse. 

“ Hanged !” he at length uttered, as if to complete 
the sentence the other had left unfinished. “ It is 
droll enough that such a fellow should dare to foretel 
so elevated a fate for me/” 

He was evidently preparing to follow the retiring 
party, when he felt a hand laid a little unceremoni- 
ously on his arm, and his step was arrested. 

“ One word in your ear, sir,” said the attentive 
tailor, making a significant sign that he had matters 
of importance to communicate : “ A single word, 


THE RED ROVER. 


35 


sir, since you are in the particular service of his 
Majesty. Neighbour Pardon,” he continued, with a 
dignified and patronising air, “ the sun is getting low, 
and you will make it late home, I fear. The girl 
will give you the garment, and — God speed you ! 
Say nothing of what you have heard and seen, until 
you have word from me to that effect ; for it is seem- 
ly that two men, who have had so much experience 
in a war like this, should not lack in discretion. Fare 
ye well, lad ! — pass the good word to the worthy 
farmer, your father, not forgetting a refreshing hint 
of friendship to the thrifty housewife, your mother. 
Fare ye well, honest youth ; fare ye well !” 

Homespun, having thus disposed of his admiring 
companion, waited, with much elevation of mien, 
until the gaping humpkin had left the wharf, hefoili 
he again turned his look on the stranger in green. 
The latter had continued standing in his tracks, with 
an air of undisturbed composure, until he was once 
more addressed by the tailor, whose character and 
dimensions he seemed to have taken in,’ at a single 
glance of his rapid eye. 

“ You say, sir^ you are a servant of his Majesty?” 
demanded the latter, determined to solve all doubts 
as to the other’s claims on his confidence, before he 
committed himself by any precipitate disclosure. 

“ I may say more ; — his familiar confident !” 

It is an honour to converse with such a man, 
that I feel in every bone in my body,” returned the 
cripple, smoothing his scanty hairs, and bowing near- 
ly to the earth ; “ a high and loyal honour do I feel 
this gracious privilege to be.” 

“ Such as it is, my friend, I take on myself in his 
Majesty’s name, to bid you welcome.” 

“ Such munificent condescension would open my 
whole heart, though treason, and all other unright- 
eousness, was locked up in it. I am happy, honour- 
ed, and I doubt not, honourable sir, to have this op- 


36 


THE RED ROVER. 


portunity of proving my zeal to the King, before one 
who will not fail to report my humble efforts to his 
royal ears.” 

“ Speak freely,” interrupted the stranger in green, 
with an air of princely condescension ; though one, 
less simple and less occupied with his own budding 
lionours than the tailor, might have easily discovered 
that he began to grow weary of the other’s prolix loy- 
alty : “ Speak without reserve, friend ; it is what we 
always do at court.” Then, switching his boot with 
his riding whip, he muttered to himself, as he swung 
his light frame on his heel, with an indolent, indiffer- 
ent air, “ If the fellow swallows that, he is as stupid 
as his own goose !” 

I shall, sir, I shall ; and a great proof of charity 
is it in one like your noble self to listen. You see 
yonder tall ship, sir, in the outer harbour of this loyal 
sea-port?” 

“ 1 do ; she seems to be an object of general atten- 
tion among the worthy lieges of the place.” 

“ Therein I conceive, sir, you have overrated the 
sagacity of my townsmen. She has been lying where 
you now see her for many days, and not a syllable 
have I heard whispered against her character from 
mortal man. except myselif” 

“ Indeed !” muttered the stranger, biting the han- 
dle of his whip, and fastening his glittering eyes in- 
tently on the features of the good-man, which were 
literally swelling with the importance of his dis- 
covery ; “ and what may be the nature of yonr sus- 
picions ?” 

“ Why, sir, T maybe wrong — and God forgive me 
if I am — but this is no more nor less than what has 
arisen in my mind on the subject. Yonder ship, and 
her crew, bear the reputation of being innocent and 
harmless slavers, among the good people of Newport ; 
and as such are they received and welcomed in the 
place, the one to a safe and easy anchorage^ and the 


THE RED ROVER. 


37 


others among the taverners and shop-dealers. I would 
not have you imagine that a single garment has ever 
gone from my fingers for one of all her crew ; no, 
let it he for ever remembered that the whole of their 
dealings have been with the young tradesman named 
Tape, who entires customers to barter, by backbiting 
and otherwise defiling the fair names of his betters in 
the business : not a garment has been made by my 
hands for even the smallest boy.” 

“ You are lucky,” returned the stranger in green, 
in being so well quit of the knaves ! and yet have 
you forgotten to name the particular offence with 
which 1 am to charge them before the face of the 
King,” 

‘‘ I am coming as fast as possible to the weighty 
matter. You must know, worthy and commenda- 
ble sir, that I am a man that has seen much, and suf- 
fered much, in his Majesty’s service. Five bloody 
and cruel wars have I gone through, besides other 
adventures and experiences, such as becomes a hum- 
ble subject to suffer meekly and in silence.” 

' All of which shall be directly communicated to 
the royal ear. And now, worthy friend, relieve 
your mind, by a frank communication of your sus- 
picions,” 

“ Thanks, honourable sir ; your goodness in my 
behalf cannot be forgotten, though it shall never be 
said that any impatience to seek the relief you men- 
tion, hurried me into a light and improper manner 
cf unburthening my mind. You must know, hon- 
oured gentleman, that yesterday, as I sat alone, at 
this very hour, on my board, reflecting in my thoughts 
—for the plain reason that my envious neighbour 
had enticed all the newly arrived customers to his 
own shop — well, sir, the head will be busy when 
the hands are idle ; there I sat, as I have briefly told 
you, reflecting in my thoughts, like any other ac- 
VoL. I. 


38 


THE RED ROVER. 


countable being, on the calamities of life, and on the 
great experiences that I have had in the wars. F or 
you must know, valiant gentleman, besides the affair 
in the land of the Medes and Persians, and the Por- 
teous mob in Edinbro’, five cruel and bloody” 

“ There is that in your air which sufficiently pro- 
claims the soldier,” interrupted his listener, who evi- 
dently struggled to keep down his rising impatience ; 
“ but, as my time is so precious, I would now more 
especially hear what you have to say concerning 
yonder ship.” 

“ Yes, sir, one gets a military look after seeing 
numberless wars ; and so, happily for the need of 
both, I have now come to the part of my secret 
which touches more particularly on the character of 
that vessel. There sat I, reflecting on the manner 
in which the strange seamen had been deluded by 
my tonguey neighbour — for, as you should know, 
sir, a desperate talker is that Tape, and a younker 
who has seen but one war at the utmost — therefore, 
was I thinking of the manner in which he had en- 
ticed my lawful customers from my shop, when, as 
one thought is the father of another, the following 
concluding reasoning, as our pious priest has it week- 
ly in his reviving and searching discourses, came up- 
permost in my mind : If these mariners were hon- 
est and conscientious slavers, would they overlook a 
labouring man with a large family, to pour their 
well-earned gold into the lap of a common babbler ? 
I proclaimed to myself at once, sir, that they would 
not. I was bold to say the same in my own mind ; 
and, thereupon, I openly put the question to all in 
hearing, If they are not slavers, what are they ? A 
question which the King himself would, in his royal 
wisdom, allow to be a question easier asked than an- 
swered ; upon which I replied. If the vessel be no 
fair-trading slaver, nor a common cruiser of his Ma- 


THE RED ROVER. 


39 ^ 


jesty, it is as tangible as the best man’s reasoning, 
that she may be neither more nor less than the ship 
of that nefarious pirate the Red Rover.” 

“ The Red Rover ! ” exclaimed the stranger in 
green, with a start so natural as to evidence that his 
dying interest in the tailor’s narrative was suddenly 
and powerfully revived. “ That indeed would be a 
secret worth having ! — but why do you suppose the 
same ? ” 

“For sundry reasons, which I am now about to 
name, in their respective order. In the first place, 
she is an armed ship, sir. In the second, she is no 
lawful cruiser, or the same would be publicly 
known, and by no one sooner than myself, inasmuch 
as it is seldom that I do not finger a penny from the 
King’s ships. In the third place, the burglarious and 
unfeeling conduct of the few seamen who have land- 
ed from her go to prove it ; and, lastly, what is well 
proved may be considered as substantially establish- 
ed. These are what, sir, I should call the opening 
premises of my inferences, all of which I hope you 
will properly lay before the royal mind of his Ma- 
jesty.” 

The barrister in green listened to the somewhat 
wire-drawn deductions of Homespun with great at- 
tention, notwithstanding the confused and obscure 
manner in which they were delivered by the aspir- 
ing tradesman. His- keen eye rolled quickly, and 
often, from the vessel to the countenance of his com- 
panion ; but several moments elapsed before he saw 
fit to make any reply. The reckless gayety with 
which he had introduced himself, and which he had 
hitherto maintained in the discourse, was entirely 
superseded by a musing and abstracted air, which 
sufficiently proved, that, whatever levity he might 
betray in common, he was far from being a stranger 
to deep and absorbing thought. Suddenly throwing 
off his air of gravity, however, he assumed one in 


40 


THE REH ROVER. 


which ironj and sincerity were singularly blended , 
and, laying his hand familiarly on the shoulder of the 
expecting tailor, he replied — 

“ You have communicated such matter as becom- 
eth a faithful and loyal servant of the King. It is 
well known that a heavy price is set on the head of 
the meanest follower of the Rover, and that a rich, 
ay, a splendid reward will be the fortune of him who 
is the instrument of delivering the whole knot of 
miscreants into the hands of the executioner. In- 
deed, I know not but some marked evidence of the 
roj^al pleasure might follow such a service. There 
was Phipps, a man of humble origin, who received 
knighthood — ” 

“ Knighthood ! ” echoed the tailor, in awful ad- 
miration. 

“Knighthood,*” coolly repeated the stranger; 
“ honourable and chivalric knighthood. What may 
have been the appellation you received from your 
sponsors in baptism ?” 

“ My given name, gracious and grateful sir, is 
Hector.” 

“And the house itself? — the distinctive appella- 
tion of the family?” 

“We have always been called Homespun.” 

“ Sir Hector Plomespun will sound as well as an- 
other ! But to secure these rewards, my friend, it is 
necessary to be discreet. I admire your ingenuity, 
and am a convert to your logic. You have so en- 
tirely demonstrated the truth of your suspicions, that 
I have no more doubt of yonder vessel being the 
pirate, than I have of your wearing spurs, and being 
called sir Hector. The two things are equally estab- 
lished in my mind ; but it is needful that we proceed 
in the matter with caution. I understand you to say, 
that no one else has been enlightened by your erudi- 
tion in this affair?” 


THE RED ROVER. 


41 


“ Not a soul. Tape himself rs ready to swear that 
the crew are conscientious slavers.” 

“ So best. We must first render conclusions cer- 
tain ; then to our reward. Meet me at the hour of 
eleven this night, at yonder low point, where the 
land juts into the outer harbour. From that stand 
will we make our observations ; and, having remov- 
ed every doubt, let the morning produce a discovery 
that shall ring from the Colony of the Bay to the 
settlements of Oglethorpe. Until then we part; for 
it is not wise that we be longer seen in conference. 
Remember silence, punctuality, and the favour of 
the King. These are our watch-words.” 

“ Adieu, honourable gentlemen,” said his compan- 
ion, making a reverence nearly to the earth, as the 
other slightly touclied his hat in passing. 

‘‘ Adieu, sir Hector,” returned the stranger in 
green, with an affable smile and a gracious wave of 
the hand. He then walked slowly up the wharf, 
and disappeared behind the mansion of the Home- 
spuns ; leaving the head of that ancient family, like 
many a predecessor and many a successor, so rapt 
in the admiration of his own good fortune, and so 
blinded by his folly, that, while physically he saw to 
the right and to the left as well as ever, his mental 
vision was completely obscured in the clouds of 
ambition. 


CHAPTER III. 


Alonzo. “ Good boatswain, have care.” — Tempest. 


The instant the stranger had separated from the 
credulous tailor, he lost his assumed air in one far 
more natural and sedate. Still it would seem that 
thought was an unwonted, or an unwelcome tenant 
of his mind ; for, switching his boot with his little 


42 


tHE RED ROVER. 


riding whip, he entered the principal street of the 
place with a light step and a wandering eye. Though 
his look was unsettled, few of the individuals, whom 
he passed, escaped his quick glances ; and it was 
quite apparent, from the hurried manner in which 
he began to regard objects, that his mind was not 
less active than his body. A stranger thus accoutred, 
and one bearing about his person so many evidences 
of his recent acquaintance witli the road, did not 
fail to attract the attention of the provident publi- 
cans we have had occasion to mention in our opening 
chapter. Declining the civilities of the most favour- 
ed of the inn-keepers, he suffered his steps to be, 
oddly enough, arrested by the one whose hoqse was 
the usual haunt of the hangers-on of the port. 

On entering the bar-room of this tavern, as it was 
called, but which in the mother country would prob- 
ably have aspired to be termed no more than a pot- 
house, he found the hospitable apartment thronged 
with its customary revellers. A slight interruption 
was produced by the appearance of a guest who was 
altogether superior, in mien and attire, to the ordi- 
nary customers of the house, but it ceased the m'o- 
ment the stranger had thrown himself on a bench, 
and intimated to the host the nature of his wants. 
As the latter furnished the required draught, he made 
a sort of apology, which was intended for the ears 
of ail his customers nigh the stranger, for the manner 
in which an individual, in the further end of the long 
narrow room, not only monopolized the discourse, 
but appeared to extort the attention of all within 
^ hearing to some portentous legend he was rccount- 
ing. 

“ It is the boatswain of the slaver in the outer 
harbour, squire,” the worthy disciple of Bacchus 
concluded ; man who has followed the water 
-many a day, and who has seen sights and prodigies 
enough to fill a smart volume. Old Bor’us the peo- 


THE RED ROVER. 


43 


plo call him, though his lawful name is Jack Night- 
ingale. Is the toddy to the squire’s relish?” 

The stranger assented to the latter query,, by 
smacking his lips, and bowing, as he put down the 
nearly untouched draught. He then turned his head, 
to examine the individual who might, by the man- 
ner in which he declaimed, have been termed, in 
the language of the country, the second “ orator of 
the day.” 

A stature which greatly exceeded six feet ; enor- 
mous whiskers . that quite concealed a moiety of his 
grim countenance ; a scar, which was the memorial 
of a badly healed gash, that had once threatened to 
divide that moiety in quarters ; limbs in proportion ; 
the whole rendered striking by the dress of a sea- 
man ; a long, tarnished silver chain, and a little 
whistle of the same metal, served to reader the in- 
dividual in question sufficiently remarkable. With- 
out appearing to be in the smallest degree aware of 
the entrance of one altogether so superior to the class 
of his usual auditors, this son of the Ocean contin- 
ued his narrative as follows, and in a voice that seem- 
ed given to him by nature as if in very mockery of his 
musical name ; indeed, so very near did his tones 
approach to the low murmurings of a bull, that some 
little practice was necessary to accustom the ear to 
the strangely uttered words. 

“ Well !” he continued, thrusting his brawny arm 
forth, with the fist clenched, indicating the necessa- 
ry point of the compass by the thumb ; “ the coast 
of Guinea might have lain hereaway, and the wind, 
you see, was. dead off shore, blowing in squalls, as a 
cat spHs, all the same as if the old fellow, who keeps 
it bagged for the use of us seamen, sometimes let the 
stopper slip through his fingers, and was sometimes 
fetching it up again with a double turn round the 
end of his sack. — You know what a sack is, brother?” 

This abrupt question was put to the gaping bump- 


44 


THE RED ROVER* 


kin, already known to the reader, who, with the 
nether garment just received from the tailor under 
his arm, had lingered, to add the incidents of the 
present legend to the stock of lore that he had already 
obtained for the ears of his kinsfolk in the country. 
A general laugh, at the expense of the admiring Par- 
don, succeeded. Nightingale bestowed a knowing 
wink on one or two of his familiars, and, profiting 
by the occasion, “ to freshen his nip,” as he quaintly 
styled swallowing a pint of rum and water, he con- 
tinued his narrative by saying, in a sort of admonito- 
ry tone, — 

“ And the time may come when you will know 
'what a round-turn is, too, if you let go your hold of 
honesty. A man’s neck was made, brother, to keep 
his head above water, and not to be stretched out of 
shape like a pair of badly fitted dead-eyes. There- 
fore, have your reckoning worked up in season, and 
the lead of conscience going, when you find yourself 
drifting on the shoals of temptation.” Then, rolling 
his tobacco in his mouth, he looked boldly about 
him, like one who had acquitted himself of a moral 
obligation, and continued : “Well, theu'e lay the land, 
and, as I was saying, the wind was here, at east-and- 
by-south, or mayhap at east-and-by-south-half-south, 
sometimes blowing like a fin-back in a hurry, and 
sometimes leaving all the canvas chafing ag’in the 
rigging and spars, as if a bolt of duck cost no more 
nor a rich man’s blessing. I didn’t like the looks of 
the weather, seeing that there was altogether too 
much unsartainty for a quiet watch, so I walked aft, 
iji order to put myself in the way of giving an opin- 
ion, if-so-be such a thing should be asked. You must 
know, brothers, that, according to my notions of re- 
ligion and behaviour, a man is not good for much, 
unless he has a full share of manners ; therefore I 
am never known to put my spoon into the captain’s 
mess, unless I am invited, for the plain reason, that 


THE RED ROVER. 


45 


my berth is forward, and his’n aft, 1 do not say in 
which end of a ship the better man is to be found ; 
that is a matter concerning which men have different 
opinions, though most judges in the business are 
agreed. But aft I walked, to put myself in the way 
of giving an opinion, if one should be asked ; nor 
was it long before the thing came to pass just as I 
had foreseen. ‘ Mister Nightingale,’ says he ; for 
our Captain is a gentleman, and never forgets his 
behaviour on deck, or when any of the ship’s com- 
pany are at hand, ‘'Mister Nightingale,’ says he, ‘ what 
do you think of that rag of a cloud, hereaway at 
the north-west V says he. ‘ Why, sir,’ says I, boldly, 
for I’m never backward in speaking, when properly 
spoken to, so, ‘ why, sir,’ says I, ‘ saving your Hon- 
our’s better judgment,’ — which was all a flam, for he 
was but a chicken to me in years and experience, 
but then I never throw hot ashes to windward, or 
any thing else that is warm — so, ‘ sir,’ says I, ‘ it is my 
advice to hand the three topsails and to stow the jib. 
We are in no hurry ; for the plain reason, that Guinea 
will be to-morrow just where Guinea is to-night. 
As for keeping the ship steady in these matters of 
squalls, we have the mainsail on her-—’ ” 

“ You should have furl’d your mainsail too,” ex- 
claimed a voice from behind, that was#quite as dog- 
matical, though a little less grum, than that of the 
loquacious boatswain. 

“ What know-nothing says that ?” demanded 
Nightingale fiercely, as if all his latent ire was ex- 
cited by so rude and daring an interruption. 

“ A man who has run Africa down, from Bon to 
Good-Hope, more than once, and who knows a white 
squall from a rainbow,” returned Dick Fid, edging 
his short person stoutly towards his furious adversa- 
ry, making his way through the crowd by which the 
important personage of the boatswain was environ- 
ed by dint of his massive shoulders ; “ ay, brother, 


46 


THE RED ROVER. 


and a man, know-much or know-nothing, who would 
never advise his officer to keep so much after-sail on 
a ship, when there was the likelihood of the wind 
taking her aback.” 

To this bold vindication of an opinion which all 
present deemed to be so audacious, there succeeded 
a general and loud murmur. Encouraged by this 
evidence of his superior popularity. Nightingale was 
not slow, nor very meek, with his retort ; and then 
followed a clamorous concert, in which the voices 
of the company in general served for the higher and 
shriller notes, through which the bold and vigorous 
assertions, contradictions, and opinions of the two 
principal disputants were heard running a thorough- 
bass. 

For some time, no part of the discussion was very 
distinct, so great was the confusion of tongues ; and 
there were certain symptoms of an intention, on the 
part of Fid and the boatswain, to settle their con- 
troversy by the last appeal. During this moment of 
suspense, the former had squared his firm-built frame 
in front of his gigantic opponent, and there were 
very vehement passings and counter-passings, in the 
way of gestures from four athletic arms, each of 
which was knobbed, like a fashionable rattan, with 
a lump of bones, knuckles, and sinews, that threat- 
ened annihilation to any thing that should oppose 
them. As the general clamour, however, gradually 
abated, the chief reasoners began to be heard ; and, 
as if content to rely on their respective powers of 
eloquence, each gradually relinquished his hostile 
attitude, and appeared disposed to maintain his ground 
by a member scarcely less terrible than his brawny 
arm. 

“ You are a bold seaman, brother,” said Nightin- 
gale, resuming his seat, “ and, if saying was doing, 
no doubt you would make a ship talk. But I, who 
have seen fleets of two and three deckers — and that 


THE RED ROVER. 


47 


of all nations, except your Mohawks, mayhap, whose 
cruisers I will conies^ never to have fallen in with — 
lying as snug as so many white gulls, under reefed 
mainsails, know how to take the strain off a ship, 
and to keep my bulkheads in their places.” 

“ I deny the judgment of heaving-to a boat under 
her after square-sails,” retorted Dick. “ Give her 
the staysails, if you will, and no harm done ; but a 
true seaman will never get a bagful of wind between 
his mainmast and his lee-swifter, if-so-be he knows 
his business. But words are like thunder, which 
rumbles aloft, without coming down a spar, as 1 have 
yet seen ; let us therefore put the question to some 
one who has been on the water, and knows a little 
of life and of ships.” 

“If the oldest admiral in his Majesty’s fleet was 
here, he wouldn’t be backward in saying who is right 
and who is wrong. I say, brothers, if there is a man 
among you all who has had the advantage of a sea 
education, let him speak, in order that the truth of 
this matter may not be hid, like a marlingspike jam- 
med between a brace-block and a blackened yard.” 

“ Here, then, is the man,” returned Fid ; and, 
stretching out his arm, he seized Scipio by the collar, 
and drew him, without ceremony, into the centre of 
the circle, that had opened around the two dispu- 
tants. “ There is a man for you, who has made one 
more voyage between this and Africa than myself, 
for the reason that he was born there. Now, answer 
as if you were hallooing from a lee-earing, S’ip, un- 
der what sail would you heave-to a ship, on the coast 
of 'your native country, with the danger of a white 
squall at hand ?” 

“ I no heave-’em-to,” said the black, “ I make ’em 
scud.” 

“Ay, boy; but, to be in readiness for the pulf, 
would you jam her dp under a mainsail, or let her 
lie a little ofl’ under a fore course ?” 


48 


THE RED ROVER. 


“ Any fool know dat,” returned Scipio, grumly, 
and evidently tired already of being thus catechised. 

“ If you want ’em fall off, how you’m expect, in 
reason, he do it under a main course? You answei 
me dat, misser Dick.” 

“ Gentlemen,” said Nightingale, looking about him 
with an air of great gravity, “ I put it to your. Hon 
ours, is it genteel behaviour to bring a nigger, in this 
out-of-the-way fashion, to give an opinion in the teeth 
of a white man ?” 

This appeal to the wounded dignity of the com- 
pany was answered by a common murmur. Scipio, 
who was prepared to maintain, and would have 
maintained, his professional opinion, after his posi- 
tive and peculiar manner, against any disputant, had 
not the heart to resist so general an evidence of the 
impropriety of his presence. Without uttering a 
word in vindication or apology, he folded his arms, 
and walked out of the house, with the submission 
and meekness of one who had been too long trained 
in humility to rebel. This desertion on the part of 
his companion was not, however, so quietly acqui- 
esced in by Fid, who found himself thus unexpected- 
ly deprived of the testimony of the black. He loudly 
I’emonstrated against his retreat ; but, finding it in 
vain, he crammed, the end of several inches of to- 
bacco into his mouth, swearing, as he followed the 
African, and keeping his eye, at the same time, firm- 
ly fastened on his adversary, that, in his opinion, 
‘‘ the lad, if he was fairly skinned, would be found 
to be the whiter man of the two.” 

The triumph of the boatswain was now complete ; 
nor was he at all sparing of his exultation. 

“Gentlemen,” he said, addressing himself, with 
an air of increased confidence, to the motley audience 
who surrounded him, “ you that reason is like a 
ship bearing down with studdih|-sails on both sides, 
leaving a straight wake and no favours. Now, 1 


THE RED ROVER. 


49 


scorn boasting, nor do I know who the fellow is who 
has just sheered off, in time to save his character, 
but this I will say, that the man is not to be found, 
between Boston and the W est Indies, who knows 
better than myself how to make a ship walk, or how 
to make her stand still, provided I” 

The deep voice of Nightingale became suddenly 
hushed, and his eye was riveted, by a sort of en- 
chantment, on the keen glance of the stranger in 
green, whose countenance was now seen blended 
among the more vulgar faces of the crowd. 

“ Mayhap,” continued the boatswain, swallowing 
l^is words, in the surprise of seeing himself so un- 
expectedly confronted by so imposing an eye, “may- 
hap this gentleman has some knowledge of the sea, 
and can decide the matter in dispute,” 

“ We do not study naval tactics at the universities,” 
returned the other briskly, though I will confess, from 
the little I have heard, I am Altogether in favour of 
scudding. 

He pronounced the latter word with an emphasis 
which rendered it questionable if he did not mean to 
pun ; the more especially as he threw down his reck- 
oning, and instantly left the field to the quiet posses- 
sion of Nightingale. The latter, after a short patise, 
resumed his narrative, though, either from weariness 
or some other cause, it was observed that his voice 
was far less positive than before, and that his tale 
was cut prematurely short. After completing his 
narrative and his grog, he staggered to the beach, 
whither a boat was shortly after despatched to con- 
vey him on board the ship, which, during all this 
time, had not ceased to be the constant subject of 
the suspicious examination of the good-man Home- 
spun. 

In the mean while,|^he stranger in green had pur- 
sued his walk along the main street of the town. Fid 
had given chase to the disconcerted Scipio, grum- 
yor<. T. 


50 


THE RED ROVER. 


bling as he went, and uttering no very delicate re- 
marks on the knowledge and seamanship of the boat- 
swain. They soon joined company again, the former 
changing his attack to the negro, whom he lib- 
erally abused, for abandoning a point which he 
maintained was as simple, and as true, as “ that yon- 
der bit of a schooner would make more way, going 
wing-and-wing, than jammed up on a wind.” 

Probably diverted with the touches of peculiar 
character he had detected in this singular pair of 
confederates, or possibly led by his own wayward 
humour, the stranger followed their footsteps. After 
turning from the, water, they mounted a hill, the lat- 
ter a little in the rear of his pilots, until he lost sight 
of them in a bend of the street, or rather road ; for, 
by this time, they were past even the little suburbs 
of the town. Quickening his steps, the barrister, as 
he had announced himself to be, was glad to catcli 
a glimpse of the two worthies, seated under a fence 
several minutes after he had believed them lost. 
They were making a frugal meal, olf the contents of 
a little bag which the white had borne under his arm, 
and from which he now dispensed liberally to his 
companion, who had taken his post sufficiently nigh 
to proclaim that perfect amity was restored, though 
still a little in the back ground, in deference to the 
superior condition which the other enjoyed through 
favour of his colour. Approaching the spot, the 
stranger observed, — 

“ If you make so free with the bag, my lads, your 
third man may have to go supperless to bed.” 

“ Who hails ?” said Dick, looking up from his 
bone, with an expression much like that of a mastiff 
when engaged at a similar employment. 

“ 1 merely wished to remind you that you had 
another messmate,” cavalierly^eturned the other. 

“ Will you take a cut, brother^?” said the seaman, 
offering the bag, with the liberality of a sailor,“ the 


THE RED ROVER. 


51 


moment he fancied there was an indirect demand 
made on its contents. 

“ You still mistake my meaning ; on the v^harf you 
had another companion.” 

“ Ay, ay ; he is in the offing there, overhauling 
that bit of a light-house, which is badly enough moor- 
ed, unless they mean it to shew the channel to your 
ox-teams and inland traders ; hereaway, gentlemen, 
where you see that pile of stones which seems likely 
to be coming down shortly by-the-run.” 

The stranger looked in the direction indicated by 
the other, and saw the young mariner, to whom he 
had alluded, standing at the foot of a ruined tower, 
which was crumbling under the slow operations of 
time, at no great distance from the place where he 
stood. Throwing a handful of small change to the 
seamen, he wished them a better meal, and crossed 
the fence, with an apparent intention of examining 
the ruin also. 

“ The lad is free with his coppers,” said Dick, 
suspending the movements of his teeth, to give the 
stranger another and a better look ; “ but, as they 
will not grow where he has planted them, S’ip, you 
may turn them over to my pocket. An off-handed 
and a free-handed chap that, Africa ; but thenThese 
law-dealers get all their pence of the devil, and they 
are sure of more, when the shot begins to run low 
in the locker.” 

Leaving the negro to collect the money, and to 
transfer it, as in duty bound, to the hands of him 
who, if not his master, was at all times ready and 
willing to exercise the authority of one, we shall 
follow the stranger in his walk toward the tottering 
edifice. There was little about the ruin itself to at- 
tract the attention of one who, from his assertions, 
had probably often enjoyed the opportunities of ex- 
amining far more imposing remains of former ages, 
on the other side of the Atlantic. It was a small 


5-2 


THE REE ROVER. 


circular tower, which stood on rude pillars, connect- 
ed by arches, and might have been constructed, in 
the infancy of the country, as a place of defence, 
though it is far more probable that it was a work 
of a less warlike nature. More than half a century 
after the period of which we are writing, this little 
edifice, peculiar in its form, its ruinous condition, 
and its materials, has suddenly become the study 
and the theme of that very learned sort of individu- 
al, the American antiquarian. It is not surprising 
that a ruin thus honoured should have become the 
object of many a hot and erudite discussion. While 
the chivalrous in the arts and in the antiquities of 
the country have been gallantly breaking their lances 
around the mouldering walls, the less instructed and 
the less zealous have regarded the combatants with 
the same species of wonder as they would have man- 
ifested had they been present when the renowned 
knight of La Mancha tilted against those other wind- 
mills, so ingeniously described by the immortal Cer- 
vantes. 

On reaching the place, the stranger in green gave 
his boot a smart blow with the riding whip, as if to 
attract the attention of the abstracted young sailor, 
and freely remarked, — 

“ A very pretty object this would be, if covered 
with ivy, to be seen peeping through an opening in 
a wood. But I beg pardon ; gentlemen of your pro- 
fession have little to do with woods and crumbling 
stones. Yonder is the tower,” pointing to the tall 
masts of the ship in the outer harbour, “ you love to 
look on ; and your only ruin is a wreck !” 

“ You seem familiar with our tastes, sir,” coldly 
returned the other. 

“It is by instinct, then; for it is certain I have 
had but little opportunity^ of acquiring my knowledge 
by actual communion with any of the — cloth ; nor 
do I perceive that I am likely to be more fortunate 


TftE RED ROVER. 


53 


at present. Let us be frank, my friend, and talk in 
amity : What do you see about this pile of stones, 
that can keep you so long from your study of yonder 
noble and gallant ship ?” 

“ Did it then surprise you that a seaman out of 
employment should examine a vessel that he finds 
to his mind, perhaps with an intention to ask for 
service 

“ Her commander must be a dull fellow, if he re- 
fuse it to so proper a lad ! But you seem to be too 
well instructed for any of the meaner births.” 

“ Births !” repeated the other, again fastening his 
eyes, with a singular expression, on the stranger in 
green. 

“ Births ! It is your nautical word for ‘ situation,’ 
or ‘station;’ is it not? We know but little of the 
marine vocabulary, we barristers ; but I think 1 may 
venture on that as the true Doric. Am I justified by 
your authority ?” 

“ The word is certainly not yet obsolete ; and, by 
a figure, it is as certainly correct in the sense you 
used it.” 

“ Obsolete !” repeated the stranger in green, re- 
turning the meaning look he had just received : “Is 
that the name of any part of a ship ? Perhaps, by 
figure^ you mean figure-head ; and, by obsolete^ the 
long-boat !” 

The young seaman laughed ; and, as if this sally 
had broken through the barrier of his reserve, his 
manner lost much of its cold restraint during the re- 
mainder of their conference. 

“ It is just as plain,” he said, “ that you have been 
at sea, as it is that I have been at school. Since we 
have both been so fortunate, we may afford to be gen- 
erous, and cease speaking in parables. For instance, 
what think you has been the object and use of this 
ruin, when it was in good condition?” 

“ In order to judge of that,” returned the stranger 
E 2 


54 


THE REl* ROVEPv. 


in green, “ it may be necfijjsary to examine it more 
closely. Let us ascend." 

As he spoke, the barrister mounted, by a crazy 
ladder, to the floor which lay just above the crown of 
the arches, through which he passed by an open trap' 
door. His companion hesitated to follow ; but, oL 
serving that the other expected him at the summit 
of the ladder, and that lie very kindly pointed out a 
defective round, he sprang forward, and went up the 
ascent with the agility and steadiness peculiar to his 
calling, 

“ Here we are P’ exclaimed the stranger in green, 
looking about at the naked walls, which were formed 
of such small and irregular stones as to give the 
building the appearance of dangerous frailty, “ with 
good oaken plank for our deck, as you would say, 
and the sky for our roof, as vve call the upper part 
of a house at the universities. Now let- us speak of 
things on the lower world. A — a — ; I forgiet what 
you said was your usual appellation — " 

“ That might depend on circumstances. 1 have 
been known by ditferent names in different situa- 
tions. However, if you call me Wilder, T shall not 
fail to answer." 

“ Wilder !" a good name ; though, I dare say, it 
would have been as true were it Wildone. You 
young ship-boys have the character of being a little 
erratic in your humours at times. How many tender 
hearts have you left to sigh for your errors, amid 
shady bowers, while you have been ploughing — that 
is the word, 1 believe — ploughing the salt-sea ocean ?" 

“ Few sigh for me," returned Wilder, thouglitfully, 
though he evidently began to chafe a little under 
this free sort of catechism. “ Let us now return to 
our study of the tower. What think you has been 
its object?" 

“ Its present use is plain, and its former use can 
be no great mystery. It holds at this moment two 


THE RED ROVER. 


55 


light hearts ; ahd, if I am not mistaken, as many light 
heads, not overstocked with the stores of wisdom. 
Formerly it had its granaries of corn, at least, and, I 
doubt not, cert^n little quadrupeds, who were quite 
as light of fingers as we are of head and heart. In 
plain English, it\has been a mill.” 

“ There are mose who think it had been a for- 
tress.” I 

“ Hum ! The blace might do, at need,” returned 
he in green, CMting a rapid and peculiar glance 
around him. “ But mill it has been, notwithstanding 
one might wish ilt a nobler origin. The windy situ- 
ation, the pillar^ to keep olf the invading vermin, 
the shape, the flir, the very complexion, prove it. 
Whir-r-r, whir-v-r ; there has been clatter enough 
here in time pi^st, I warrant you. Hist! It is not 
done yet I” 1 

Stepping lightly to one of the little perforations 
which had once served as windows to the tower, he 
cautiously thrust his head through the opening ; and, 
after gazing there half a minute, he withdrew it again, 
making a gesture fp the attentive Wilder to be silent. 
The latter complied ; nor was it long before the na- 
ture of the interrubtion was sufficiently explained. 

The silvery voice of woman was first heard at a 
little distance ; and then, as the speakers drew nigh- 
er, the sounds aro^e directly from beneath, within 
the very shadow of the tower. By a sort of tacit 
consent, Wilder anc] the barrister chose spots favour- 
able to the executibn of such a purpose ; and each 
continued, during tlie time the visiters remained near 
the min, examiningjtheir persons, unseen themselves, 
and we are sorry Ive must do so much violence to 
the breeding of twb such important characters in our 
legend, amused and attentive listeners also to their 
conversation ' 


4 


5G 


THE RED ROVER. 


CHAPTER IV. 

“ 'they fool me to the top of my bent .” — Hamlet 

The party below consisted of four individuals, ali 
of whom were females. One was a lady in the de- 
cline of her years ; another was past the middle age ; 
the third was on the very threshold of what is called 
“ life,” as it is applied to intercourse with the world ; 
and the fourth was a negress, who might have seen 
some five-and-twenty revolutions of the seasons. 
The latter, at that time, and in that country, of course 
appeared only in the character of a humble, though 
perhaps favoured domestic. 

“ And now, my child, that I have given you all 
the advice which circumstances and your own ex- 
cellent heart need,” said the elderly lady, among 
the first words tliat were distinctly intelligible to the 
listeners, “ I will change the ungracious office to one 
more agreeable. You will tell your father of my 
continued affection, and of the promise he has given, 
tiiat you are to return once again, before we separate 
for the last time.” 

This speech was addressed to tlie younger female, 
and was apparently received with as much tender- 
ness and sincerity as it was uttered. The one who 
was addressed raised her eyes, which were glittering 
with tears she evidently struggled to conceal, and 
answered in a voice that sounded in the ears of the 
two youthful listeners like the noles of the Syren, so 
very sweet and musical were its tones. 

“ It is useless to remind me of a promise, my be- 
loved aunt, wdiich 1 have so much interest in remem- 
bering,” she said. ‘‘ I hope for even more than y^ou 
have perhaps dared to wish ; if my father does not 
return with me in the spring, it shall not be for want 
of urging on my part.” 


THE HED ROVER. 


57 


Our good Wyllys will lend her aid,” returned 
the aunt, smiling and bowing to the third female, 
with that mixture of suavity and form which was 
peculiar to the stately manners of the time, and 
which was rarely neglected, when a superior ad- 
dressed an inferior. “ She is entitled to command 
some interest with General Grayson, from her fidel- 
ity and services. 

‘‘ She is entitled to every thing that love and heart 
can give !” exclaimed the niece, with a haste and 
earnestness that proclaimed how willingly she would 
temper the formal politeness of the other by the 
warmth of her own affectionate manner ; “ my father 
will scarcely refuse her any thing.” 

And have we the assurance of Mrs Wyllys that 
she will be in our interests ?” demanded the aunt, 
without permitting her own sense of propriety to be 
overcome by the stronger feelings of her niece ; 
“ v/ith so powerful an ally, our league will be invin- 
cible.” 

“ I am so entirely of opinion, that the salubrious 
air of this healthful island is of great importance 
to my young charge, Madam, that, were all other 
considerations wanting, the little I can do to aid your 
wishes shall be sure to be done.” 

Wyllys spoke with dignity, and perhaps with some 
portion of that reserve which distinguished all the 
communications between the wealthy and high-born 
aunt and the salaried and dependent governess of 
her brother’s heiress. Still her manner was gentle, 
and the voice, like that of her pupil, soft and strik- 
ingly feminine. 

“We may then consider the victory as achieved, 
as my late husband the Rear-Admiral was accustom- 
ed to say. Admiral de Lacey, my dear Mrs Wyllys, 
adopted it iii early life as a maxim, by which all bis 
future conduct was governed, and by adhering to 
which he acquired no small share of his professional 


58 


TttE RED ROVER. 


1 


reputation, that, in order to be successful, it only 
necessary to be determined one would be so; — a 
noble and inspiriting rule, and one that could not fail 
to lead to those signal results which, as we all know 
them, 1 need not mention.” 

Wyllys bowed her head^ in acknowledgment of the 
truth of the opinion, and in testimony of the renowni 
of the deceased Admiral ; but did not think it neces- 
sary to make any reply. Insfead of allowing th^ 
subject to occupy her mind any longer, she turned 
to her young pupil, and observed, speaking in a voice 
and with a manner from which every appearance of 
restraint was banished, — 

“ Gertrude, my love, you will have pleasure in 
returning to this charming island, and to these cheer- 
ing sea breezes.” 

“ And to my aunt !” exclaimed Gertrude. “I wish 
my father could be persuaded to dispose of his estates 
in Carolina, and come northward, to reside the whole 
year.” 

“ It is not quite as easy for an affluent proprietor 
. to remove as you may imagine, my child,” returned 
Mrs de Lacey. “ Much as I wish that some such 
plan could be adopted, I never press my brother on 
the subject. Besides, I am not certain, that, if we 
were ever to make another change in the family, it 
would not be to return home altogether. It is now 
more than a century, Mrs Wyllys,' since the Graysons 
came into the colonies, in a moment of dissatisfaction 
with the government in England. My great-grand- 
father, sir Everard, was displeased with his second 
son, and the dissension led my grandfather to the 
province of Carolina. But, as the breach has long 
since been healed, I often think my brother and my- 
self may yet return to the halls of our ancestors. 
Much will, however, depend on the manner in which 
we dispose of our treasure on this side of the At- 
lantic.” 


THE RED ROVER. 


59 


As the really well-meaning, though, perhaps, a 
little too much self-satisfied lady concluded her re- 
mark, she glanced her eye at the perfectly uncon- 
scious subject of the close of her speech. Gertrude 
had, as usual, when her aunt chose to favour her 
governess with any of her family reminiscences, 
turned her head aside, and was now offering her 
cheek, burning with health, and perhaps a little with 
shame, to the cooling influence of the evening breeze. 
The instant the voice of Mrs de Lacey had ceased, 
she turned hastily to her companions ; and, pointing 
to a noble-looking ship, whose masts, as it lay in the 
inner harbour, were seen rising above the roofs of 
the town, she exclaimed, as if glad to change the 
subject in any manner, — 

“ And yonder gloomy prison is to be our home, 
dear Mrs Wyllys, for the next month !” 

“ I hope your dislike to the sea has magnified the 
time,” mildly returned her governess ; “ the passage 
between this place and Carolina has been often made 
in a shorter period.” 

“ That it has been so done, I can testify,” resumed 
the Admiral’s widow, adhering a little pertinacious- 
ly to a train of thoughts, which, once thoroughly 
awakened in her bosom, was not easily diverted into 
another channel, “since my late estimable and (I 
feel certain all who hear me will acquiesce when I 
add) gallant husband once conducted a squadron of 
his Royal Master, from one extremity of his Majesty’s 
American dominions to the other, in a time less than 
that named by my niece : It may have made some 
difference in his speed that he was in pursuit of the 
enemies of his King and country, but still the fact 
proves that the voyage can be made within the 
month.” 

“ There is that dreadful Henlopen, with its sandy 
shoals and shipwrecks on one hand, and that stream 


60 


THE RED ROVER. 


they call the Gulf on the other P’ exclaimed Ger- 
trude, with a shudder, and a burst of natural female 
terror, which makes timidity sometimes attractive, 
when exhibited in the person of youth and beauty. 
“ If it were not for Henlopen, and its gales, and its 
shoals, and its gulfs, I could think only of the pleasure 
of meeting my father.” 

Mrs Wyllys, who never encouraged her pupil in 
those natural weaknesses, however pretty and be- 
coming they might appear to other eyes, turned with 
a steady mien to the young lady, as she remarked, 
with a brevity and decision that were intended to put 
the question of fear at rest for ever, — 

“ If all the dangers you appear to apprehend ex- 
isted in reality, the passage would not be made daily, 
or even hourly, in safety. You have often. Madam, 
come from the Carolinas by sea, in company with 
Admiral de Lacey ?” 

“ Never,” the widow promptly and a little drily 
remarked, “ The water has not agreed with my 
constitution, and I have never neglected to journey 
by land. But then you know, Wyllys, as the con- 
sort and relict of a dag-ofiicer, it was not seemly 
that I should be ignorant of naval science. I believe 
there are few ladies in the British empire who are 
more familiar with ships, either singly or in squad- 
ron, particularly thp latter, than myself. This in- 
formation I have naturally acquired, as the compan- 
ion of an officer, whose fortune it was to lead fleets, 
I presume these arq matters of which you are pro- 
foundly ignorant.” i 

* The calm, dignified countenance of Wyllys, on 
which it would seeni^ as if long cherished and painful 
recollections had Ifift a settled, but mild expression 
of sorrow, that ratfier tempered than destroyed the 
traces of character; which were still remarkable in 
her firm collected eye, became clouded, for a mo- 


THE RED ROVER. 


61 


merit, with a deeper shade of melancholy. After 
hesitating, as if willing to change the subject, she 
replied, — 

“ 1 have not been altogether a stranger to the sea. 

It has been my lot to have made many long, and 
some perilous voyages.” 

As a mere passenger. But we wives of sailors 
only, among our sex, can lay claim to any real 
knowledge of the noble profession ! What natural 
object is there, or can there be,” exclaimed the nau- 
tical dowager, in a burst of professional enthusiasm, 

“ liner than a stately ship breasting the billows, as I 
have heard the Admiral say a thousand times, its 
taffrail ploughing the main, and its cut-water gliding 
after, like a sinuous serpent pursuing its shining 
wake, as a living creature choosing its path on the 
land, and leaving the bone under its fore-foot, a bea- 
con for those that follow ? I know not, my dear 
Wyllys, if I make myself intelligible to you, but, to 
my instructed eye, this charming description conveys 
a picture of all that is grand and beautiful !” 

The latent smile, on the countenance of the gov- 
erness, might have betrayed that she was imagining 
the deceased Admiral had not been altogether devoid 
of the waggery of his vocation, had not a slight noise, 
which sounded like the rustling of the wind, but 
which in truth was suppressed laughter, proceeded 
from the upper room of the tower. The words, “ It 
is lovely !” were still on the lips of the youthful 
Gertrude, who saw all the beauty of the picture her 
aunt had essayed to describe, without descending to 
the humble employment of verbal criticism. But* 
her voice became hushed, and her attitude that ol 
startled attention : — 

“ Did you hear nothing?” she said. 

“ The rats have not yet altogether deserted the 
mill,” was the calm reply of Wyllys, 

Voi,. I. F 


62 


THE RED ROVER. 


“ Mill ! my dear Mrs Wyllys, will you persist in 
calling this picturesque ruin a mill?''’' 

“ However fatal it may be to its charms, in the 
eyes of eighteen, I must call it a 

“ Ruins are not so plenty in this country, my dear 
governess,” returned her pupil, laughing, while the 
ardour of her eye denoted how serious she was in 
defending her favourite opinion, “ as to justify us in 
robbing them of any little claims to interest they may 
happen to possess.” 

“ Then, happier is the country ! Ruins in a land 
are, like most of the signs of decay in the human 
form, sad evidences of abuses and passions, which 
have hastened the inroads of time. These provinces 
are like yourself, my Gertrude, in their freshness and 
their youth, and, comparatively, in their innocence 
also. Let us hope for both a long, an useful, and a 
happy existence.” 

“ Thank you for myself, and for my country ; but 
still I can never admit this picturesque ruin has been 
a mill.''’ 

“ Whatever it may have been, it has long occupied 
its present place, and has the appearance of continu- 
ing. where it is much longer, which is more than can 
be said of our prison, as you call yonder stately ship, 
in which we are so soon to embark. Unless my eyes 
deceive me, Madam, those masts are moving slowly 
past the chimnies of the town.” 

“ You are very right, Wyllys. The seamen are 
towing the vessel into the outer harbour, where they 
will warp her fast to the anchors, and thus secure 
her, until they shall be ready to unmake their sails, 
in order to put to sea in the morning. This is a 
manoeuvre often performed, and one which the Ad- 
miral has so clearly explained, that I should find little 
difficulty in superintending it in my own person, 
were it suitable to my sex and station.” 


THE RED ROVER. 


63 


“ This is, then, a hint that all our own prepara- 
tions are not completed. However lovely this spot 
may seem, Gertrude, we must now leave it, for some 
months at least.” 

“ Yes,” continued Mrs de Lacey, slowly following 
the footsteps of the governess, who had already mov- 
ed from beneath the ruin ; “ whole fleets have often 
been towed to their anchors, and there warped, wait- 
ing for wind and tide to serve. None of our sex 
know the dangers of the Ocean, but we who have 
been bound in the closest of all ties to oflicers of 
rank and great service ; and none others can ever 
truly enjoy the real grandeur of the ennobling pro- 
fession. A charming object is a vessel cutting the 
waves with her taflirail, and chasing her wake on the 
trackless waters, like a courser that ever keeps in 
his path, though dashing madly on at the very top of 
his speed ! — ” 

The reply of Mrs Wyllys was not audible to the 
covert listeners. Gertrude had followed her com- 
panions ; but, when at some little distance from the 
tower, she paused, to take a parting look at its moul- 
dering walls. A profound stillness succeeded for 
more than a minute. 

“ There is something in that pile of stones, Cas- 
sandra,” she said to the jet-black maiden at her el- 
bow, “ that could make me wish it had been some- 
thing more than a mill.” 

“There rat in ’em,” returned the literal and sim 
pie-minded black; “you hear what Misse Wyllys 
say ?” 

Gertrude turned, laughed, patted the dark cheek 
of her attendant, with fingers that looked like snow 
by the contrast, as if to chide her for wishing to de- 
stroy the pleasing illusion she would so gladly har- 
bour, and then bounded down the hill after her aunt 
and governess, like a joyous and youthful Atalanta. 

The two singularly consorted listeners in the tow- 


64 


tHE RED ROVER. 


er stood gazing, at their respective look-outs, so long 
as the smallest glimpse of the flowing robe of her 
light form was to he seen ; and then they turned to 
each other, and stood confronted, the eyes of each 
endeavouring to read the expression of his neigh- 
bour’s countenance. 

“ I am ready to make an aftidavit before my Lord 
High Chancellor,” suddenly exclaimed the barrister, 
“ that this has never been a mill !” 

“ Your opinion has undergone a sudden change !” 

“ I am open to conviction, as I hope to he a judge. 
The case has been argued by a powerful advocate, 
and I have lived to see my error.” 

“ And yet there are rats in the place.” 

“ Land rats, or water rats ?” quickly demanded 
the other, giving his companion one of those startling 
and searching glances, which his keen eye had so 
freely at command. 

“ Both, I believe,” was the dry and caustic reply ; 

certainly the former, or the gentlemen of the long 
robe are much injured by report.” 

The barrister laughed ; nor did his temper appear 
in the slightest degree ruffled at so free an allusion at 
his learned and honourable profession. 

“ You gentlernen of the Ocean have such an hon- 
est and amusing frankness about you,” he said, “that 
I vow to God you are overwhelming. I am a down- 
right admirer of your noble calling, and something 
skilled in its terms. What spectacle, for instance, 
can be finer than a noble ship ‘ stemming the waves 
with her taffrail,’ and chasing her wake, like a racer 
on the course !” 

“ Leaving the ‘ bone in her mouth’ under her stern, 
as a light-house for all that come after !” 

Then, as if they found singular satisfaction in 
dwelling on these images of the worthy relict of the 
gallant Admiral, they broke out simultaneously into 
a fit of clamorous merriment^ that caused the old 


THE RED ROVER. 


65 


ruin to ring, as in its best days of windy power. The 
barrister was the first to regain his self-command, for 
the mirth of the young mariner was joyous, and 
without the least restraint. 

“ But this is dangerous ground for any but a sea- 
man’s widow to touch,” the former observed, as sud- 
denly causing his laughter to cease as he had admit- 
ted of its indulgence. “ The younger, she who is no 
lover of a mill, is a rare and lovely creature ! it 
would seem that she is the niece of the nautical 
critic.” 

The young mariner ceased laughing in his turn, 
as though he were suddenly convinced of the glaring 
impropriety of making so near a relative of the fair 
vision he had seen the subject of his merriment. 
Whatever might have been his secret thoughts, he 
was content with replying, — 

“ She so declared herself.” 

Tell me,” said the barrister, walking close to the 
other, like (me who communicated an important se- 
cret in the question, “ was there not something re- 
markable, searching, extraordinary, heart-touching, 
in the voice of her they called Wyllys ?” 

“ Did you note it ?” 

“ It sounded to me like the tones of an oracle — 
the whisperings of fancy — the very words of truth ! 
It was a strange and persuasive voice 1” 

I confess I felt its influence, and in a way for 
which I cannot account !” 

“ It amounts to infatuation !” returned the barris- 
ter, pacing up and down the little apartment, every 
trace of humour and irony having disappeared in a 
look of settled and abstracted care. His cornpanioii 
appeared little disposed to interrupt his meditations, 
but stood leaning against the naked walls, himself 
the subject of deep and sorrowful reflection. At 
length the former shook off his air of thought, with 
that startling quickness which seemed common to 


66 


THE EED ROVER. 


his manner j he approached a window, and, direct- 
ing the attention of Wilder to the ship in the outer 
harbour, abruptly demanded, — 

“ Has all your interest in yon vessel ceased 

“ Far from it ; it is just such a boat as a seaman’s 
eye most loves to study !” 

“Will you venture to board her?” 

“At this hour? alone? I know not her command- 
er, or her people.” 

“ There are other hours beside this, and a sailor 
is certain of a frank reception from his messmates.’^ 

“ These slavers are not always willing to be board- 
ed ; they carry arms, and know how to keep stran- 
gers at a distance.” 

“ Are there no watch-words, in the masonry of 
your trade, by which a brother is known? Such 
terms as ‘ stemming the waves with the taffrail,’ for 
instance, or some of those knowing phrases we have 
lately heard ?” 

Wilder kept his own keen look on the counte- 
nance of the other, as he thus questioned him, and 
seemed to ponder long before he ventured on a 
reply. 

“ Why do you demand all this of me ?” he coldly 
asked. 

“ Because^, as I believe that ‘ faint heart never won 
fair lady,’ so do I believe that indecision never won 
a ship. You wish a situation, you say; and, if I were 
an Admiral, I would make you my flag-captain. At 
the assizes, when we wish a brief, we have our 
manner of letting the thing be known. But per- 
haps I am talking too much at random for an utter 
stranger. You will however remember, that, thougli 
it is the advice of a lawyer, it is given gratuitously.” 

“ And is it the more to be relied on for such ex- 
traordinary liberality ?” 

“ Of that you must judge for yourself,” said <he 
stranger in green, very deliberately putting his foot 


THE RED ROVER* 


67 


on the ladder, and descending, until no* part of his 
person but his head was seen. “ Here I go, literally 
cutting the waves with my tatfrail,” he added, as he 
descended backwards, and seeming to take great 
pleasure in laying particular emphasis on the words. 

Adieu, my friend ; if we do not meet again, I en- 
join you never to forget the rats in the Newport 
ruin.” 

He disappeared as he concluded, and in another 
instant his light form was on the ground. Turning 
with the most admirable coolness, he gave the bottom 
of the ladder a trip with one of his feet, and laid the 
only means of descent prostrate on the earth. Then, 
looking up at the wondering Wilder, he nodded his 
b.ead familiarly, repeated his adieu, and passed with 
a swift step from beneath the arches. 

“ This is extraordinary conduct,” muttered Wil- 
der, who was by the process left a prisoner in the 
ruin. After ascertaining that a fall from the trap 
might endanger his legs, the young sailor ran to one 
of the windows of the place, in order to reproach 
his treacherous comrade, or indeed to assure himself 
that he was serious in thus deserting him. The bar- 
rister was already out of hailing distance, and, before 
Wilder had time to decide on what course to take, 
his active footsteps had led him into the skirts of the 
town, among the buildings of which his person became 
immediately lost to the eye. 

During all the time occupied by the foregoing 
scenes and dialogue. Fid and the negro had been dil- 
igently discussing the contents of the bag, under the 
fence where they were last seen. As the appetite of 
the former became appeased, his didactic disposition 
returned, and, at the precise moment when Wilder 
was left alone in the tower, he was intently engaged 
in admonishing the black on the delicate subject of 
behaviour in mixed society. 

‘‘ And so you see, Guinea,” he concluded, “ in or- 


68 


THE RED ROVER. 


der to keep a weather-lielm in company, you are 
never to throw all aback, and go stern foremost out 
of a dispute, as you have this day seen fit to do. 
According to my Taming, that Master Nightingale is 
better in a bar-room than in a squall ; and if you had 
just luffed-up on his quarter, when you saw me lay- 
ing myself athwart his hawse in the argument, you 
see we should have given him a regular jam in the 
discourse, and then the fellow would have been 
shamed in the eyes of all the hy-standers. Who 
hails? what cook is sticking his neighbour’s pig 
now?” 

“ Lor’ ! Misser Fid,” cried the black, “here mas- 
ser Harry, wid a head out of port-hole, up dereaway 
in a light-house, singing-out like a marine in a boat 
wid a plug out ! ” 

“ Ay, ay^ let him alone for hailing a top-gallant 
yard, or a flying-jih-boom ! The lad has a voice like 
a F rench horn, when he has a mind to tune it ! And 
what the devil is he manning the guns of that weath- 
er-beaten wreck for ? At all events, if he has to fight 
his craft alone, there is no one to blame but himself, 
since he has gone to quarters without beat of drum, 
or without, in any other manner, seeing fit to muster 
his people.” 

As Dick and the negro had both been making the 
best of their way towards the ruin, from the moment 
they discovered the situation of their friend, by this 
time they were within speaking distance of the spot 
itself, Wilder, in those brief, pithy tones that dis- 
tinguish the manner in which a sea officer issues his 
orders, directed them to raise the ladder. When he 
was liberated, he demanded, with a sufficiently sig- 
nificant air, if they had observed the direction in 
which the stranger in green had made his retreat ? 

“ Do you mean the chap in boots, who was for 
shoving his oar into another man’s rullock, a bit ago, 
on the small matter of wharf, hereaway, in a range, 


tHE RED ROVER. 


69 


over yonder house, bringing the north-east chimney 
to bear in a line, with the mizen-top-gallant-mast- 
head of that ship they are warping into the stream?” 

“ The very same.” 

“ He made a slant on the wind until he had weath- 
ered yonder bit of a barn, and then he tacked and 
stretched away off here to the east-and-by-south, 
going large, and with studding sails alow and aloft, 
as I think, for he made a devil of a head-way.” 

“Follow,” cried Wilder, starting forward in the 
direction indicated by Fid, without waiting to hear 
any more of the other’s characteristic explanations. 

The search, however, was vain. Although they 
continued their inquiries until long after the sun had 
set, no one could give them the smallest tidings of 
what had become of the stranger in green. Some 
had seen him, and marvelled at his singular costume, 
and bold and wandering look ; but, by all accounts, 
he had disappeared from the town as strangely and 
mysteriously as he had entered it. 

CHAPTER V. 


“ Are you so brave ? I’ll have you talked with anon.” 

Coriolartus. 

The good people of the town of Newport sought 
their rest at an early hour. They were remarkable 
for that temperance and discretion which, even to 
this day, distinguish the manners of the inhabitants 
of New-England. By ten, the door of every house 
in the place was closed for the night ; and it is quite 
probable, that, before another hour had passed, 
scarcely an eye was. open, among all those which, 
throughout the day, had been sufficiently alert, not 
only to superintend the interests of their proper 


70 


THE RED ROVER. 


owners, but to spare some wholesome glances at the 
concerns of the rest of the neighbourhood. 

The landlord of the ‘‘Foul Anchor,” as the inn, 
where Fid and Nightingale had so nearly come to 
blows, was called, scrupulously closed his doors at 
eight ; a sort of expiation, by which he endeavoured 
to atone, while he slept, for any moral peccadillos 
that he might have committed during the day. In- 
deed, it was to be observed as a rule, that those who 
had the most difficulty in maintaining their good 
name, on the score of temperance and moderation, 
were the most rigid in withdrawing, in season, from 
the daily cares of the world. The Admiral’s widow 
had given no little scandal, in her time, because lights 
were so often seen burning in her house long after 
the hour prescribed by custom for their extinction. 
Indeed, there were several other little particulars in 
which this good lady had rendered herself obnoxious 
to the whispered remarks of some of her female visit- 
ants. An Episcopalian herself, she was always ob- 
served to be employed with her needle on the evenings 
of Saturdays, though by no means distinguished for 
her ordinary industry. It was, however, a sort of man- 
ner the good lady had of exhibiting her adherence' 
to the belief that the night of Sunday was the ortho- 
dox evening of the Sabbath. On this subject there 
was, in truth, a species of silent warfare between 
herself and the wife of the principal clergyman of 
the town. It resulted, happily, in no very striking 
marks of hostility. The latter was content to retal- 
iate, by bringing her work, on the evenings of Sun- 
days, to the house of the dowager, and occasioifally 
interrupting their discourse, by a diligent application 
of the needle for some five or six minutes at a time. 
Against this contamination Mrs de Lacey took no 
other precaution than to play with the leaves of a 
prayer book, precisely on the principle that one 


THE RED ROVER. 


71 


uses holy water to keep the devil at that distance 
which the Church has considered safest for its pros- 
elytes. 

Let these matters be as they would, by ten o’clock 
on the night of the day our tale commences, the 
town of Newport was as still as though it did not 
contain a living soul. Watchmen there were none ; 
for roguery had not yet begun to thrive openly in 
the provinces. When, therefore. Wilder and his 
two companions issued, at that hour, from their 
place of retirement into the empty streets, they 
found them as still as if man had never trod there. 
Not a candle was to be seen, nor the smallest evi- 
dence of human life to be heard. It would seem 
our adventurers knew their errand well ; for, instead 
of knocking up any of the drowsy publicans to de- 
mand admission, they held their way steadily to the 
water’s side ; Wilder leading. Fid coming next, and 
Scipio, in cojiformity to all usage, bringing up the 
rear, in his ordinary, quiet, submissive manner. 

At the margin of the water they found several 
small boats, moored under the shelter of a neigh- 
bouring wharf. Wilder gave his companions their 
directions, and walked to a place convenient for 
embarking. After waiting the necessary time, the 
bows of two boats came to the land at the same 
moment, one of which was governed by the hands 
of the negro, and the other by those of Fid. 

“ How’s this ?” demanded Wilder ; Is not one 
enough ? There is some mistake between you.” 

“ No mistake at all,” responded Dick, suffering 
his oar to float on its blade, and running his fingers 
into his hair, as if he was content with his achieve- 
ment ; “ no more mistake than there is in taking the 
sun on a clear day and in smooth water. Guinea 
is in the boat you hired; but a bad bargain you 
made of it, as I thought at the time ; and so, as 
better late than never ’ is my rule, I have just been 


72 


THE RED ROVER. 


casting an eye over all the craft ; if this is not the 
tightest and fastest rovdng clipper of them all, then 
am I no judge ; and yet the parish priest would tell 
you, if he were here, that my father was a boat- 
builder, ay, and swear it too ; that is to say, if you 
paid him well for the same.” 

“ Fellow,” returned Wilder, angrily, “ you will 
one day induce me to turn you adrift. Return the 
boat to the place where you found it, and see it se- 
cured in the same manner as before.” 

“Turn me adrift!” deliberately repeated Fid. 
“ that would be cutting all your weather lanyard-} at 
one blow, master Harry. Little good would come 
of Scipio Africa and you, after 1 should part compa- 
ny. Have you ever fairly logg’d the time we have 
sailed together ?” 

“ Ay, have 1 ; but it is possible to break even a 
friendship of twenty years.” 

“ Saving your presence, master Harry, I’ll be 

d d if I believe any such thing. Here is Guinea, 

who is no better than a nigger, and therein far from 
being a fitting messmate to a white man ; but, being 
used to look at his black face for four-and-twenty 
years, d’ye see, the colour has got into my eye, and 
now it suits as well as another. Then, at sea, in a 
dark night, it is not so easy a matter to tell the clif- 
ference. No, no, 1 am not tired of you yet, master 
Harry ; and it is no trifle that shall part us.” 

“ Then, abandon your habit of making free with 
the property of others.” 

“ I abandon nothing. No man can say he ever 
knowed me to quit a deck while a plank stuck to 
the beams \ and shall I abandon, as you call it, my 
rights ? What is the mighty matter, that all hands 
must be called to see an old sailor punished ? You 
gave a lubberly fisherman, a fellow who has never 
been in deeper water than his own line will sound, 
you gave him, I say, a glittering Spaniard, just for the 


THE RED ROVER. 


73 


use of a bit of a skiff for th^ night, or, mayhap, for a 
small reach into the morning. Well, what does Dick 

do ? He says to himself — for d e if he’s any 

blab to run round a ship grumbling at his officer — 
so, he just says to himself ‘ That’s too much;’ and 
he looks about, to find the worth of it in some of the 
fisherman’s neighbours. Money can be eaten ; and, 
what is better, it may be drunk ; therefore, it is not 
to be pitched overboard with the cook’s ashes. I’ll 
warrant me, if the truth could be fairly come by, it 
would be found, that, as to the owners of this here 
yawl, and that there skiff, their mothers are cousins, 
and that the dollar will go in snuff and strong drink 
among the whole family — so, no great harm done, 
after all.” 

Wilder made an impatient gesture to the other to 
obey, and walked up the bank, while he had time to 
comply. Fid never disputed a positive and distinct 
order, though he often took so much discretionary 
latitude in executing those which were less precise. 
He did not hesitate, therefore, to return the boat ; 
but he did not carry his subordination so far as to 
do it without complaint. When this act of justice 
was performed. Wilder entered the skiff ; and, see- 
ing that his companions were seated at their oars, he 
bade them to pull down the harbour, admonishing 
them, at the same time, to make as little noise as 
possible. 

“ The night I rowed you into Louisbourg, a-recon- 
noitring,” said Fid, thrusting his left hand into his 
bosom, while, with his right, he applied sufficient 
force to the light oar to make the skiff glide swiftly 
over the water — “ that night we muffled every thing, 
even to our tongues. When there is occasion to put 
stoppers on the mouths of a boat’s crew, why, I’m 
not the man to gainsay it ; but, as I am one of them 
that thinks tongues were just as much made to talk 
with, as the sea was made to live on, I uphold rational 
VoL. I. G 


74 


THE RED ROVER. 


conversation in sober society. "S’ip, you Guinea, 
where are yoii shoving the skiff to? hereaway lies 
the island, and you are for going into yonder bit of 
a church.” 

“ Lay on your oars,” interrupted Wilder ; “ let 
the boat drift by this vessel.” 

They were now in the act of passing the ship, 
which had been warping from the wharfs to an an- 
chorage, and in which the young sailor had so clan- 
destinely heard that Mrs Wyllys and the fascinating 
Gertrude were to embark, on the following morning, 
for the distant province of Carolina. As the skiff 
floated past. Wilder examined the vessel, by the dim 
light of the stars, with a seaman’s eye. No part of 
her hull, her spars, or her rigging, escaped his notice ; 
and, w'hen the whole became confounded, by the 
distance, in one dark mass of shapeless matter, ho 
leaned his head over the side of his little bark, and 
mused long and deeply with himself. To this ab- 
straction Fid presumed to offer no interruption. It 
had the appearance of professional duty ; a subject 
that, in his eyes. Was endowed with a species of 
character that might be called ssicred. Scipio was 
habitually silent. After losing many minutes in this 
manner. Wilder suddenly regained his recollection, 
and abruptly observed, — 

It is a, tall ship, and one that should make a long 
chase !” 

“ That’s as may be,” returned the ready Fid. 
‘‘ Should that fellow get a free wind, and his canvas 
all abroad, it might worry a King’s cruiser to get 
nigh enough to throw the iron on his decks ; but 
jamm’d up close hauled, why, I’d engage to lay on 
his weather quarter, with the saucy He — ” 

“Boys,”' interrupted Wilder, “it is now proper 
that you should know something of my future move- 
ments. We have been shipmates, I might almost 
say messmates, for more than twenty years, I was 


* 5 ‘> 


THE RED ROVER. 


75 


no belter than an infant, Fid, when you brought me 
to the commander of your ship, and not only was 
instrumental in saving my life, but in putting me into 
a situation to make an officer.” 

“ ay ^ you were no great matter, master Harry 
as to bulk ; and a short hammock served your turn 
as well as the captain’s birth.” 

“ I owe you a heavy debt. Fid, for that one gen- 
erous act, and something, I may add, for your steady 
adherence to me since.” 

“ Why, yes. I’ve been pretty steady in my con- 
duct, master Harry, in this here business, more par- 
ticularly, seeing that I have never let go my grap- 
plings, though you’ve so often sworn to turn me 
adrift. As for Guinea, here, the chap makes fair 
weather with you, blow high or blow low, whereas 
it is no hard matter to get up a squall between us, 
as might be seen in that small' affair about the 
boat — 

“ Say no more of it,” interrupted Wilder, whose 
feelings appeared sensibly touched, as his recollec- 
tions ran over long-past and bitterly-remembered 
scenes : “You know that little else than death can 
part us, unless indeed you choose to quit me now. 
It is right that you should know that I am engaged 
in a desperate pursuit, and one that may easily end 
in ruin to myself and all who accompany me. I feel 
reluctant to separate from you, my friends, for it may 
be a final parting, but, at the same time, you should 
know all the danger.” 

“ Is there much more travelling by land ?” bluntly 
demanded Fid. 

“ No ; the duty, such as it is, will be done entirely 
on the water.” 

“ Then bring forth your ship’s books, and find room 
for such a mark as a pair of crossed anchors, which 
stand for all the same as so many letters reading 
Richard Fid.’ ” 


76 


THE RED ROVER. 


“ But perhaps, when you know” 

“ I want to know nothing about it, master Harry. 
Haven’t I sailed with you often enough under sealed 
orders, to trust my old body once more in your com- 
pany, without forgetting my duty ? What say you, 
Guinea ? will you ship ? or shall we land you at once, 
on yonder bit of a low point, and leave you to scrape 
acquaintance with the clams ?” 

“ ’Em berry well off, here,” muttered the perfect- 
ly contented negro. 

“ Ay, ay, Guinea is like the launch of one of the 
coasters, always towing in your wake, master Harry ; 
whereas I am often luffing athwart your hawse, or 
getting foul, in some fashion or other, on one of your 
quarters. Howsomever, we are both shipped, as 
you see, in this here cruise, with the particulars of 
which we are both well satisfied. So pass the word 
among us, what is to be done next, and no more 
parley.” 

“ Remember the cautions you have already re- 
ceived,” returned Wilder, who saw that the devotion 
of his followers was too infinite to need quickening^ 
and who knew, from long and perilous experience, 
how implicitly he might rely on their fidelity, not- 
withstanding certain failings, that were perhaps pe- 
culiar to their condition ; “remember what J have, 
already given in charge ; and now pull directly for yon 
ship in the outer harbour.” 

Fid and the black promptly complied ; and the 
boat was soon skimming the water between the lit- 
tle island and what might, by comparison, be called 
the main. As they approached the vessel, the strokes 
of the oars were moderated, and finally abandoned 
altogether. Wilder preferring to let the skiff drop 
down with the tide upon the object he wished well 
to examine before venturing to board. 

“ Has not that ship her nettings triced to the rig- 
ging?” he demanded, in a voice that was lowered to 


THE E-Ep HOVER. 


77 


the tones necessary to escape observation, and which 
betrayed, at the same time, the interest he toolc in 
the reply. 

“ According to my sight, she has,” returned. Fid ; 
“ your slavers are a little pricked by conscience, and 
are never over-bold, unless when they are chasing a 
young nigger on the coast of Congo. Now, there is 
about as much danger of a Frenchman’s looking in 
here to-night, with this land breeze and clear sky, as 
there is of my being made Lord High Admiral of 
England ; a thing not likely to come to pass soon, 
seeing that the King don’t know a great deal of my 
merit.” 

“ They are, to a certainty, ready to give a warm 
reception to any boarders !” continued Wilder, who 
rarely paid much attention to the amplifications with 
which Fid so often saw fit to embellish the discourse. 
“ It would be no easy matter to carry a ship thus 
prepared, if her people were true to themselves.” 

“ I warrant ye there is a full quarter-watch at least 
sleeping among her guns, at this very moment, with 
a bright look-out from her cat-heads and taflfrail. I 
was once on the weather fore-yard-arm of the Hebe, 
when I made, hereaway to the south-west, a sail 
coming large upon us,” — 

“ flist ! they are stirring on her decks !” 

“ To be sure they are. The cook is splitting a 
log ; the captain has sung out for his night-cap.” 

The voice of Fid was lost in a summons from the 
ship, that sounded like the roaring of some sea mon- 
ster, which had unexpectedly raised its head above 
the water. The practised ears of our adventurers 
instantly comprehended it to be, what it truly was, 
the manner in which it was not unusual to hail a 
boat. Without taking time to ascertain that the 
plashing of oars was to be heard in the distance. 
Wilder raised his form in the skiff, and answered. 

‘‘ How now ?” exclaimed the same strange voice ; 

G 2 


78 


THE RED ROVER. 


“ there is no one victualled aboard here that speaks 
thus’. Whereaway are you, he that answers ?” 

“ A little on your larboard bow ; here, in the 
shadow of the ship.” 

“ And what are ye about, within the sweep of my 
hawse?” 

“ Cutting the waves with my taffrail,” returned 
Wilder, after a moment’s hesitation. 

“What fool has broke adrift here!” muttered his 
interrogator. “ Pass a blunderbuss forward, and 
let us see if a civil answer can’t be drawn from the 
fellow.” 

“ Hold I” said a calm but authoritative voice from 
the most distant part of the ship ; “ it is as it should 
be ; let them approach.” 

The man in the bows of the vessel bade Ihem 
come along side, and then the conversation ceased. 
Wilder had now an opportunity to discover, that, as 
the hail had been intended for another boat, which 
was still at a distance, he had answered prematurely. 
But, perceiving that it was too late to retreat with 
safety, or perhaps only acting in conformity to his 
original determination, he directed his companions 
to obey. 

“ ‘ Cutting the waves with the taffrail,’ is not the 
civillest answer a man can give to a hail,” muttered 
Fid, as he dropped the blade of his oar into the 
water; “nor is it a matter to be logged in a man’s 
memory, that they have taken offence at the same. 
Ilowsomever, master Harry, if they are so minded 
as to make a quarrel about the thing, give them as 
good as they send, and count on manly backers.” 

No reply was made to this encouraging assurance ; 
for, by this time, the skiff was within a few feet of the 
ship. Wilder ascended the side of the vessel amid 
a deep, and, as he felt it to be, an ominous silence. 
The night was dark, though enough light fell from 
the stars, that were here and there visible, to render 


THE KED ROVER. 


79 


objects sufficiently distinct to the practised eyes of a 
seaman. When our young adventurer touched the 
deck, he cast a hurried and scrutinizing look about 
him, as if doubts and impressions, which had long 
been harboured, were all to be resolved by that first 
view. 

An ignorant landsman would have been struck 
with the order and symmetry with which the tall 
spars rose towards the heavens, from the black mass 
of the hull, and with the rigging that hung in the 
air, one dark line crossing another, until all design 
seemed confounded in the confusion and intricacy of 
the studied maze. But to Wilder these familiar ob- 
jects furnished no immediate attraction. His first 
rapid glance had, like that of all seamen, it is true, 
been thrown upward, but.it was instantly succeeded 
by the brief, though keen, examination to which we 
have just alluded. With the exception of one who, 
though his form was muffled in a large sea-cloak, 
seemed to be an officer, not a living creature was to 
be seen on the decks. On either side there was a 
dark, frowning battery, arranged in the beautiful and 
imposing order of marine architecture; but no where 
could he find a trace of the crowd of human beings 
which usually throng the deck of an armed ship, or 
that was necessary to render the engines effective. 
It might be that her people were in their hammocks, 
as usual at that hour, but still it was customary to 
leave a sufficient number on the watch, to look to 
the safety of the vessel. Finding himself so unex- 
pectedly confronted with a single individual, our 
adventurer began to be sensible of the awkwardness 
of his situation, and of the necessity of some expla- 
nation. 

“ You are no doubt surprised, sir,” he said, “ at 
the lateness of the hour that I have chosen for my 
visit.” 


80 


THE RED ROVER. 


“ You were certainly expected earlier,” was the 
laconic answer^^ 

“ Expected !” 

“ Ay, expected. Have i not seen you, and your 
two companions who are in the boat, reconnoitring 
US half the day, from the wharfs of the town, and 
even from the old tower on the hill ? What did all 
this curiosity foretel, but an intention to come on 
board ?” 

“ This is odd, I will acknowledge !” exclaimed 
Wilder, in some secret alarm. “ And, then, you had 
notice of my intentions ?” 

Hark ye, friend,” interrupted the other, indulg- 
ing in a short, low laugh “ from your outfit and ap- 
pearance, I think I am right in calling you a seaman : 
Do you imagine that glasses were forgotten in the 
inventory of this ship ? or, do you fancy that we don’t 
know how to use them ?” 

“ You must have strong reasons for looking so 
deeply into the movements of strangers on the land.” 

“ Hum ! Perhaps we expect our cargo from tlje 
country. But 1 suppose you have not come so far 
in the dark to look at our manifest. You would see 
the Captain ?” 

“ Do I not see him ?” 

“ Where ?” demanded the other, with a start that 
manifested he stood in a salutary awe-of his supe- 
rior. 

“ In yourself.” 

“ I ! 1 have not got so high in the books, though 
my time may come yet, some fair day. Hark ye, 
friend ; you passed under the stern of yonder sliip, 
which has been hauling into the stream, in coming 
out to us ?” 

“ Certainly ; she lies, as you see, directly in my 
course.” 

“A wholesome-looking craft that! and one well 


THE RED ROVER. 


81 


found, 1 warrant you. She is quite ready to be oil* 
they tell me.” 

“ It would so seem : her sails are bent, and she 
floats like a ship that is full.” 

“ Of what ?” abruptly demanded the other. 

“ Of articles mentioned in her manifest, no doubt. 
But you seem light yourself: if you are to load at 
this port, it will be some days before you put to sea.” 

“ Hum ! I don’t think we shall be long after our 
neighbour,” the other remarked, a little drily. 
Then, as if he might have said too much, he added 
hastily, “ We slavers carry little else, you know, 
than our shackles and a few extra tierces of rice ; 
the rest of our ballast is made up of these guns, and 
the stuff to put into them.” 

“ And is it usual for ships in the trade to carry so 
heavy an armament ?” 

“ Perhaps it is, perhaps not. To own the truth, 
there is not much law on the coast, and the strong 
arm often does as much as the right. Our owners, 
therefore, I believe, think it quite as well there 
should be no lack of guns and ammunition on board.” 

“ They should also give you people to work 
them.” 

“ They have forgotten that part of their wusdom, 
certainly.” 

Plis words were nearly drowned by the same gruff 
voice that had brought-to the skiff of Wilder, which 
sent another hoarse summons across the water, roll 
ing out sounds that were intended to say, — 

“ Boat, ahoy !” 

The answer was quick, short, and nautical ; but 
it was rendered in a low and cautious tone. The 
individual, with whom Wilder had been holding such 
equivocating parlance, seemed embarrassed by the 
sudden interruption, and a little at a loss to know 
how to conduct himself. He had already made a 
motion towards leading his visiter to the cabin, when 


TttE RED ROVER. 


8 ^^ 

the sounds of oars were heard clattering in a hoat 
along side of the ship, announcing that he was too 
late. Bidding the other remain where he was, he 
sprang to the gangway, in order to receive those 
who had just arrived. 

By this sudden desertion. Wilder found himself in 
entire possession of that part of the vessel where he 
stood. It gave him a better opportunity to renew 
his examination, and to cast a scrutinizing eye also 
over the new comers. 

Some five or six athletic-looking seamen ascended 
from the boat, in profound silence. A short and 
whispered conference took place between them and 
their officer, who appeared both to receive a report, 
and to communicate an order. When these prelim- 
inary matters were ended, a line was lowered, from 
a whip on the main-yard, the end evidently dropping 
into the newly-arrived boat. In a moment, the bur- 
then it was intended to transfer to the ship was seen 
swinging in the air, inidway between the water and 
the spar. It then slowly descended, inclining in- 
board, until it was safely, and somewhat carefully, 
landed on the decks of the vessel. 

During the whole of this process, which in itself 
had nothing extraordinary or out of the daily prac- 
tice of large vessels in port, Wilder had strained his 
eyes, until they appeared nearly ready to start from 
their sockets. The black mass, which had been 
lifted from the boat, seemed, while it lay against the 
back-ground of sky, to possess the proportions of the 
human form. The seamen gathered about this ob- 
ject. After much bustle, and a good deal of low 
conversation, the burthen or body, whichever it 
might be called, was raised by the jnen, and the 
whole disappeared together, behind the masts, boats, 
and guns which crowded the forward part of the 
vessel. 

The whole event was of a character to attract 


THE RED ROVER. 


83 


the attention of Wilder. His eye was not, however, 
so intently riveted on the groupe in the gangway, as 
to prevent his detecting a dozen black objects, that 
were suddenly thrust forward, from behind the spars 
and other dark masses of the vessel. They might 
be blocks swinging in the air, but they bore also a 
wonderful resemblance to human heads. The simul- 
taneous manner in which they both appeared and 
disappeared, served, to confirm this impression ; nor, 
to confess the truth, had our adventurer any doubt 
that curiosity had drawn so many inquiring counte- 
nances from their respective places of concealment. 
He had not much leisure, however, to reflect on all 
these little accompaniments of his situation, before 
he was rejoined by his former companion, who, to 
all appearance, was again left, with himself, to the 
entire possession of the deck. 

“ You know the trouble of getting ofi' the people 
from the shore,” the officer observed, “ when a ship 
is ready to sail.” 

“ You seem to have a summary method of hoist- 
ing them in,” returned Wilder. 

“ Ah ! you speak of the fellow on the whip? Your 
eyes arc good, friend, to tell a jack-knife from a 
marling-spike, at this distance. But the lad was 
mutinous ; that is, not absolutely mutinous — but, 
drunk. As mutinous as a man can well be, who can 
neither speak, sit, nor stand.” 

Then, as if as well content with his humour as 
with this simple explanation, the other laughed and 
chuckled, in a manner that showed he was in per- 
fect good humour with himself. 

“ But all this time you are left on deck,” he quick- 
ly added, “ and the Captain is waiting your appear- 
ance in the cabin : Follow ; 1 will be your pilot.” 

“ Wilder; “ will it not be as well lo 

annou^emy visit ?” 

“ He knows it already : Little takes place aboard. 


84 


THE RED ROVER. 


here, that does not reach his ears before it gets into 
the log-book.” 

Wilder made no further objection, but indicated 
his readiness to proceed. The other led the way to 
the bulkhead which separated the principal cabin 
from the quarter-deck of the ship ; and, pointing to 
a door, he rather whispered than said aloud, — 

“ Tap twice ; if he answer, go in.” ^ 

Wilder did as he was directed. His first summons 
was either unheard or disregarded. On repeating 
it, he was bid to enter. The young seaman opened 
the door, with a crowd of sensations, that will find 
their solution in the succeeding parts of our narra- 
tive, and instantly stood, under the light of a power- 
ful lamp, in the presence of the stranger in green. 

CHAPTER VI. 

“ The good old plan. 

That they should get, who have the power. 

And they should keep, who cmV—tVordsworih. 

The apartment, in which our adventurer now 
found himself, afforded no bad illustration of the 
character of its occupant. In its form, and propor- 
tions, it was a cabin of the usual size and arrange- 
ments ; but, in its furniture and equipments, it ex- 
hibited a singular admixture of luxury and martial 
preparation. The lamp, which swung from the 
upper deck, was of solid silver ; and, though adapt- 
ed to its present situation by mechanical ingenuity, 
there was that, in its shape and ornaments, which 
betrayed it had once been used before some shrine 
of a far more sacred character. Massive candle- 
sticks, of the same precious metal, and which par- 
took of the same ecclesiastical formation, were on a 
venerable table, whose mahogany was glittering with 


THE RED ROVER. 


85 


the polish of half a century, and whose gilded claws, 
and carved supporters, bespoke an original destina- 
tion very different from the ordinary service of a 
ship. A couch, covered with cut velvet, stood 
along the transom ; while a divan, of blue silk, lay 
against the bulkhead opposite, manifesting, by its 
fashion, its materials, and its piles of pillows, that 
even Asia had been made to contribute to the ease 
of its luxurious owner.^ In addition to these prominent 
articles, there were cut glass, mirrors, plate, and even 
hangings ; each of which, by something peculiar in 
its fashion or materials, bespoke an origin different 
from that of its neighbour. In short, splendour and 
elegance seemed to have been much more consulted 
than propriety, or conformity in taste, in the selec- 
tion of most of those articles, which had been, oddly 
enough, made to contribute to the caprice or to the 
comfort of their singular possessor. 

In the midst of this medley of wealth and luxury, 
appeared the frowning appendages of war. The 
cabin included four of those dark cannon whose 
weight and number had been first to catch the 
attention of Wilder. Notwithstanding they were 
placed in such close proximity to the articles of ease 
just enumerated, it only needed a seaman’s eye to 
perceive that they stood ready for instant service, 
and that five minutes of preparation would strip the 
place of all its tinsel, and leave it a warm and well 
protected battery. Pistols, sabres, half-pikes, board- 
ing-axes, and all the minor implements of marine 
warfare, were arranged about the cabin in such a 
manner as to aid in giving it an appearance of wild 
embellishment, while, at the same time, each was 
convenient to the hand. 

Around the mast was placed a stand of muskets ; 
and strong wooden bars, that were evidently made 
to fit in brackets on either side of the door, suf- 
ficiently showed that the bulkhead might easily be 
V01.J H 


36 


THE RED ROVER. 


converted into a barrier. The entire arrangement 
proclaimed that the cabin was considered the cita 
del of the ship. In support of this latter opinion, 
appeared a hatch, which evidently communicated 
with the apartments of the inferior officers, and 
which also opened a direct passage into the magazine. 
These dispositions, a little different from what he had 
been accustomed to see, instantly struck the eye ol’ 
Wilder, though leisure was not then given to retleri 
on their uses and objects. 

There was a latent expression of satisfaction, 
something modified, perhaps, by irony, on the coun- 
tenance of the stranger in green, (for he was still 
clad as when first introduced to the reader,) as he 
arose, on the entrance of his visiter. The two stood 
several moments without speaking, when the pre- 
tended barrister saw fit to break the awkward 
silence. 

“ To what happy circumstance is this ship indebt- 
ed for the honour of such a visit?” he demanded. 

“ 1 believe I may answer. To the invitation of hev 
Captain,” Wilder answered, with a steadiness and 
calmness equal to that displayed by the other. 

“ Did he show you his commission, in assuming 
that office? They say, at sea, I believe, that no 
cruiser should be found without a commission.” 

“ And what say they at the universities on this 
material point ?” 

“ I see I may as well lay aside my gown, and own 
the marling-spike !” returned the other, smiling. 
“ There is something about the trade — profession^ 
though, I believe, is your favourite word — there is 
something about the profession, which betrays us to 
each other. Yes, Mr Wilder,” he added with dig- 
nity, motioning to his guest to imitate his example, 
and take a seat, “ I am, like yourself, a seaman bred ; 
and happy am I to add, the Commander of this gal- 
lant vessel.” 


THE RED ROVER. 


87 


“ Then, must you admit that 1 have not intruded 
without a sufficient warrant.” 

“ I confess the same. My ship has filled your eye 
agreeably ; nor shall I be slow to acknowledge, that 
I have seen enough about your air, and person, to 
make me wish to be an older acquaintance. You 
want service 

“ One should be ashamed of idleness in these stis- 
ring times.” 

“ It is well. This is an oddly-constructed world 
in which we live, Mr Wilder ! Some think themselves 
in danger, with a foundation beneath them no less 
solid than terra Jirma, while others are content to 
trust their fortunes on the sea. So, again, some there 
are who believe praying is the business of man ; and 
then come others who are sparing of their breath, 
and take those favours for themselves which they 
have not always the leisure or the inclination to ask 
for. No doubt you thought it prudent to inquire 
into the nature of our trade, before you came hither 
in quest of employment?” 

“ You are said to be a slaver, among the towns- 
men of Newport.” 

“ They are never wrong, your village gossips ! If 
witchcraft ever truly existed on earth, the first of the 
cunning tribe has been a village innkeeper; the 
second, its doctor; and the third, its priest. The 
right to the fourth honour may be disputed between 
the barber and the tailor. — Roderick !” 

The Captain accompanied the word by which he 
so unceremoniously interrupted himself, by striking 
a light blow on a Chinese gong, which, among other 
curiosities, was suspended from one of the beams of 
the upper deck, within reach of his hand. 

“ I say, Roderick, do you sleep ?” 

A light and active boy darted out of one of the 
two little state-rooms which were constnicted on 


88 


THE RED Rover. 


the quarters of the ship, and answered to the sum* 
mons by announcing his presence. 

“ Has the boat returned 

The reply was in the affirmative. 

“ And has she been successful?” 

“ The General is in his room, sir,-and can give you 
an answer better than I.” 

“ Then, let the General appear, and report the 
result of his campaign.” 

Wilder was by far too deeply interested, to break 
the sudden reverie into which his companion had 
now evidently fallen, even by breathing as loud as 
usual. The boy descended through the hatch like a 
serpent gliding into his hole, or, rather, a fox darting 
into his burrow, and then a profound stillness reigned 
in the cabin. The Commander of the ship leaned 
his head on his hand, appearing utterly unconscious 
of the presence of any stranger. The silence might 
have been of much longer duration, had it not been 
interrupted by the appearance of a third person. A 
straight, rigid form slowly elevated itself through the 
little hatchway, very much in the manner that theat- 
rical spectres are seen to make their appearance on 
the stage, until about half of the person was visible, 
when it ceased to rise, and turned its disciplined 
countenance on the Captain. 

“ I wait for orders,” said a mumbling voice, 
which issued from lips that were hardly perceived 
to move. 

Wilder started as this unexpected individual ap- 
peared ; nor was the stranger wanting in an aspect 
sufficiently remarkable to produce surprise in any 
spectator. The face was that of a man of fifty, with 
the lineaments rather indurated than faded by time. 
Its colour was an uniform red, with the exception of 
one of those expressive little fibrous tell-tales on each 
cheek, which bear so striking a resemblance to the 


THE RED ROVER. 


89 


mazes of the vine, and which would seem to be the 
true origin of the proverb which says that “ good 
wine needs no bush.” The head was bald on its 
crown ; but around either ear was a mass of grizzled 
hair, pomatumed and combed into formal military 
bristles. The neck \vas long, and supported by a 
black stock ; the shoulders, arms, and body were 
those ol a man of tall stature ; and the whole were 
enveloped in an over-coat, which, though it had 
something methodical in its fashion, was evidently 
intended as a sort of domino. The Captain raised 
his head as the other spoke, exclaiming, — 

“ Ah ! General, are you at your post ? Did you 
find the land ?” 

‘‘ Yes.” 

“ And the point? — and the man ?” 

“ Both.” 

“ And what did you ?” 

“ Obey orders.” 

I “ That was right. — You are a jewel for an execu- 
tive officer. General ; and, as such, 1 wear you near 
my heart. Did the fellow complain ?” 

“He was gagged.” 

“ A summary method of closing remonstrance. It 
is as it should be, General; as usual, you have mer- 
ited my approbation.” 

“ Then reward me for it.” 

“In what manner? You are already as high in 
rank as I can elevate you. The next step must be 
knighthood.” 

“ Pshaw ! my men are no better than militia. 
They want coats.” 

“ They shall have them. His Majesty’s guards 
shall not be half so well equipt. General, I wish 
you a good night.” 

The figure descended, in the same rigid, spectral 
manner as it had risen on the sight, leaving Wilder 
aeain alone with the Captain of the ship. The lat- 
^ n 2 


90 


THE RED ROVER. 


ter seemed suddenly struck with the fact that this 
odd interview had occurred in the presence of one 
wh6 was nearly a stranger, and that, in his eyes at 
least, it might appear to require some explanation. 

“ My friend,” he said, with an air something ex- 
planatory, while it was at the same time not a little 
haughty, “ commands what, in a more regular cruiser, 
would be called the ‘ marine guard.’ He has gradu- 
ally risen, by service, from the rank of a subaltern, 
to the high station which he now fills. You per- 
ceive he smells of the camp ?” 

‘‘ More than of the ship. Is it usual for slavers to 
be so well provided with military equipments ? I 
find you armed at all points.” 

You would know more of us, before we pro- 
ceed to drive our bargain ?” the Captain answered, 
with a smile. He then opened a little casket that 
stood on the table, and drew from it a parchment, 
which he coolly handed to Wilder, saying, as he did 
so, with one of the quick, searching glances of his 
restless eye, “ You will see, by that, we have ‘letters 
of marque,’ and are duly authorized to fight the bat- 
tles of the King, while we are conducting our own 
more peaceable affairs.” 

“ This is the commission of a brig!” 

“ True, true. I have given you the wrong paper. 

I believe you will find this more accurate.” 

“ This is truly a commission for the ‘ good ship 
Seven Sisters ;’ but you surely carry more than ten 
guns, and, then, these in your cabin throw nine in- 
stead of four pound shot ! ” 

“ Ah I you are as precise as though you had been 
the barrister, and I the blundering seaman. I dare 
say you have heard of such a thing as stretching a 
commission,” continued the Captain drily, as he 
carelessly threw the parchment back among a pile 
of similar documents. Then, rising from his seat, 
he began to pace the cabin with quick steps, as he’ 


THE RED ROVER. 


91 


continued, “ I need not tell you, Mr Wilder, that 
ours is a hazardous pursuit. Some call it lawless. 
But, as I am little addicted to theological disputes, 
we will wave the question. You have not come 
here without knowing your errand.” 

“ I am in search of a birth.” 

“ Doubtless you have reflected well on the matter 
and know your own mind as to the trade in which 
you would sail. In order that no time may be wast- 
ed, and that our dealings may be frank, as becomes 
two honest seamen, I will confess to you, at once, 
that I have need of you. A brave and skilful man, 
one older, though, I dare say, not better than your- 
self, occupied that larboard state-room, within the 
month ; but, poor fellow, he is food for fishes ere 
this.” 

“ He was drowned ?” 

“ Not he ! He died in open battle with a King’s 
ship ! ” 

“ A King’s ship ! Have you then stretched your 
commission so far as to find a warranty for giving 
battle to his Majesty’s cruisers ?” 

“ Is there no King but George the Second ! Per- 
haps she bore the white flag, perhaps a Dane. But 
he was truly a gallant fellow ; and there lies his 
birth, as empty as the day he was carried from it, to 
bc^cast into the sea. He was a man fit to succeed 
to the command, should an evil star shine on my 
fate. I think I could die easier, were I to know 
this noble vessel was to be transmitted to one who 
would make such use of her as should be.” 

“ Doubtless your owners would provide a succes- 
|Oi*, in the event of such a calamity.” 

My owners are very reasonable,” returned the 
other, with a meaning smile, while he cast another 
searching glance at his guest, which compelled "Wil- 
der to lower his own eyes to the cabin floor ; “ they 
seldom trouble me with importunities, or orders.” 


92 


TiiE hed rover. 


“ They are indulgent ! 1 see that flags were not 

forgotten in your inventory : Do they also give you 
permission to wear any one of all those ensigns, as 
you may please 

As this question was put, the expressive and un- 
derstanding looks of the two seamen met. The 
Captain drew a flag from the half-open locker, where 
it had caught the attention of his visiter, and, letting 
the roll unfold itself on the deck, he answered, — 

“ This is the Lily of France, you see. No bad 
emblem of your stainless F renchman. An escutcheon 
of pretence without spot, but, nevertheless, a little 
soiled by too much use. Flere, you have the calcu- 
lating Dutchman; plain, substantial, and cheap. It 
is a flag I little like. If the ship be of value, her 
owners are not often willing to dispose of her with- 
out a price. This is your swaggering Hamburgher. 
He is rich in the possession of one town, and makes 
his boast of it, in these towers. Of the rest of his 
mighty possessions he wisely says nothing in his alle- 
gory. These are the Crescents of Turkey ; a moon-, 
struck nation, that believe themselves the inheritors 
of heaven. Let them enjoy their birthright in peace ; 
it is seldom they are found looking for its blessings 
on the high seas — and these, the little satellites that 
play about the mighty moon ; your Barbarians of 
Africa. I hold but little communion with these 
wide-trowsered gentry, for they seldom deal in gain- 
ful traffic. And yet,” he added, glancing his eye at 
the silken divan before which Wilder was seated, 
“ I have met the rascals ; nor have we parted en- 
tirely without communication ! Ah ! here comes 
the man I like ; your golden, gorgeous Spaniard ! 
This field of yellow reminds one of the riches of her 
mines ; and this Crown ! one might fancy it of beat- 
en gold, and stretch forth a hand to grasp the treas- 
ure. What a blazonry is this for a galleoji ! Here 
is the bumbler Portuguese ; and yet is he not with- 


RED ROVER. 


out a wealthy look. 1 have often fancied there were 
true Brazilian diamonds in this kingly bauble. Yon- 
der crucifix, which you see hanging in pious prox- 
imity to my state-room door, is a specimen of the 
sort I mean.” Wilder turned his head, to throw a 
look on the valuable emblem, that was really sus- 
pended from the bulkhead, within a few inches of 
the spot the other named. After satisfying his curi- 
osity, he was in the act of giving his attention again 
to the flags, when he detected another of those pen- 
etrating, but stolen glances with which his compan- 
ion so often read the countenance of his associates. 
It might have been that the Captain was endeavour- 
ing to discover the effect his profuse display of 
wealth had produced on the mind of his visiter. 
Let that be as it would. Wilder smiled ; for, at that 
moment, the idea first occurred that the ornaments 
of the cabin had been thus studiously arranged with 
an expectation of his arrival, and with the wish that 
their richness might strike his senses favourably. 
The other caught the expression of his eye; and 
perhaps he mistook its meaning, when he suffered 
his construction of what it said to animate him to 
pursue his whimsical analysis of the flags, with an 
air still more cheerful and vivacious than before. 

“ These double-headed monsters are land birds, 
and seldom risk a flight over deep waters. They 
are not for me. Your hardy, valiant Dane ; your 
sturdy Swede ; a nest of smaller fry,” he continued, 
passing his hand rapidly over a dozen little rolls as 
they lay, each in its own repository, “ who spread 
their bunting like larger states ; and your luxurious 
Neapolitan. Ah ! here come the Keys of Heaven ! 
This is a flag to die under ! I lay yard-arm and 
yard-arm, once, under that very bit of bunting, with 
a heavy corsair from Algiers” — 

“ What ! Did you choose to fight under the ban- 
ners of the Church ?” 


94 


THE RED ROVER. 


“ In mere devotion. 1 pictured to myself the sur- 
prise that would overcome the barbarian, when he 
should find that we did not go to prayers. We gave 
him but a round or two, before he swore that Allah 
had decreed he might surrender. There was a mo- 
ment, while T luffed-up on his weather-quarter, I 
believe, that the Mussulman thought the whole of tlie 
holy Conclave was afloat, and that the downfall of 
Mahomet and his offspring was ordained. I provok- 
ed the conflict, I will confess, in showing him these 
peaceful Keys, which he is dull enough to think 
open half the strong boxes of Christendom.” 

“ When he had confessed his error, you let him 
go ?” 

“ Hum ! — with my blessing. There was some in- 
terchange of commodities between us, and then we 
parted. 1 left him smoking his pipe, in a heavy sea, 
with his fore-topmast over the side, his mizzenmast 
under his counter, and some six or seven holes in his 
bottom, that let in the water just as fast as the pumps 
discharged it. You see he was in a fair way to ac- 
quire his portion of the inheritance. But Heaven 
had ordained it all, and he was satisfied !” 

“ And what flags are these which you have pass- 
ed ? They seem rich, and many.” 

“ These are England ; like herself, aristocratic, 
party-coloured, and a good deal touched by humour. 
Here is hunting to note all ranks and conditions, as 
if men were not made of the same flesh, and the 
people of one kingdom might not all sail honestly 
under the same emblems. Here is my Lord High 
Admiral ; your St. George ; your field of red, and of 
blue, as chance may give you a leader, or the humour 
of the moment prevail ; the stripes of mother India, 
and the Royal Standard itself!” 

“ The Royal Standard I” 

“ Why not ? a commander is termed a ‘ monarch 
in his ship.’ Ay ; this is the Standard of the King ; 


THE RED ROVER. 


95 


and, what is more, it has been worn in presence of 
an Admiral !” 

“This needs explanation !” exclaimed his listener, 
who seemed to feel much that sort of horror that a 
churchman would discover at the detection of sacri- 
lege. To wear the Royal Standard in presence of 
a flag ! We all know how difficult, and even danger- 
ous, it becomes, to sport a simple pennant, with the 
eyes of a King’s cruiser on us — ” 

“ I love to flaunt the rascals !” interrupted the 
other, with a smothered, but bitter laugh. “ There 
is pleasure in the thing ! — In order to punish, they 
must possess the power ; an experiment often made, 
but never yet successful. You understand balancing 
accounts with the law, by showing a broad sheet of 
canvas ! 1 need say no more.” 

“And which of all these flags do you most 
use ?” demanded Wilder, after a moment of intense 
thought. 

“ As to mere sailing, I am as whimsical as a girl 
in her teens in the choice of her ribbons. I will 
often show you a dozen in a day. Many is the wor- 
thy trader who has gone into port with his veritable 
account of this Dutchman, or that Dane, with whom 
he has spoken in the offing. As to fighting, though I 
have been known to indulge a humour, .too, in that 
particular, still is there one which I most affect.” 

“And that is? ” 

The Captain kept his hand, for a moment, on the 
roll he had touched, and seemed to read the very 
soul of his visiter, so intent and keen was his look 
the while. Then, suffering the bunting to fall, a 
deep, blood-red field, without relief or ornament of 
any sort, unfolded itself, as he answered, with em- 
phasis, — 

“ This.” 

“ That is the colour of a Rover !” 

“ Ay, it is red ! I like it better than your gloomy 


96 


THE RED ROVER. 


fields of black, with death’s heads, and other childish 
scare-crows. It threatens nothing ; but merely says, 
‘ Such is the price at which I am to be bought.’ Mr 
Wilder,” he added, losing the mixture of irony and 
pleasantry with which he had supported the pre- 
vious dialogue, in an air of authority, “ We under- 
stand each other. It is time that each should sail 
under his proper colours. I need not tell you who 
I am.” 

“ 1 believe it is unnecessary,” said Wilder. “ If 
1 can comprehend these palpable signs, I stand in 
presence of — of — ” 

“ The Red Rover,” continued the other, observing 
that he hesitated to pronounce the appalling name. 
“ It is true ; and I hope this interview is the com- 
mencement of a durable and firm friendship. I 
know not the secret cause, but, from the moment of 
our meeting, a strong and indefinable interest has 
drawn me towards you. Perhaps I felt the void 
which my situation has drawn about me ; — be that 
as it may, I receive you with a longing heart and 
open arms,” 

Though it must be very evident, from what pre- 
ceded this open avowal, that Wilder was not igno- 
rant of the character of the ship on board of which 
he had just ventured, yet did he not receive the ac- 
knowledgment without embarrassment. The repu- 
tation of this renowned freebooter, his daring, his 
acts of liberality and licentiousness so frequently 
blended, and his desperate disregard of life on afl 
occasions, were probably crowding together in the 
recollection of our more youthful adventurer, and 
caused him to feel that species of responsible hesi- 
tation, to which we are all more or less subject on 
the occurrence of important events, be they ever so 
much expected. 

“ You have not mistaken my purpose, or my sus- 
picions,” he at length answered, “ for I own I have 


THE RED ROVER. 


97 


come in search of this very ship. 1 accept the ser- 
vice ; and, from this moment, you will rate me in 
whatever station you may think me best able to dis- 
charge my duty with credit.” 

“You are next to myself. In the morning, the 
same shall be proclaimed on the quarter-deck ; and, 
in the event of my death, unless 1 am deceived in 
my man, you will prove my successor. This may 
strike you as sudden confidence. It is so, in part, I 
must acknowledge ; but our shipping lists cannot be 
opened, like those of the King, by beat of drum in 
the streets of the metropolis ; and, then, am I no 
judge of the human heart, if my frank reliance on 
your faith does not, in itself, strengthen your good 
feelings in my favour.” 

“It does !” exclaimed Wilder, with sudden and 
deep emphasis. 

The Rover smiled calmly, as he continued, — 

“ Young gentlemen of your years are apt to carry 
no small portion of their hearts in their hands. But, 
notwithstanding this seeming sympathy, in order that 
you may have sufficient respect for the discretion of 
your leader, it is necessary that I should say we have 
met before. I was apprised of your intention to seek 
me out, and to offer to join me.” 

“It is impossible!” cried Wilder, “No human 
being — ” 

“ Can ever be certain his secrets are safe,” inter- 
iTipted the other, “ when he carries a face as ingen- 
uous as your own. It is but four-and-twenty hours 
since you were in the good town of Boston.” 

“ I admit that much ; but — ” 

“ You will soon admit the rest. You were too 
curious in your inquiries of the dolt who declares 
he was robbed by us of his provisions and sails. The 
false-tongued villain ! It may be well for him to keep 
from my path, or he may get a lesson that shall prick 
his honesty. Does he think such pitiful game as he 

Voj.. I. I 


THE RED ROVER. 


' 98 

would induce me to spread a single inch of canvas, 
or even to lower a boat into the sea !” 

“Is not his statement, then, true?” demanded 
Wilder, in a surprise he took no pains to conceal. 

“ True ! Am I what report has made me ? Look 
keenly at the monster, that nothing may escape you,” 
returned the Rover, with a hollow laugh, in which 
scorn struggled to keep down the feelings of wound- 
ed pride. “ Where are the horns, and the cloven 
foot? SnufF the air: Is it not tainted with sulphur? 
But enough of this. I knew of your inquiries, and 
liked your mien. In short, you were my study ; and, 
though my approaches were made with some cau- 
tion, they were sufficiently nigh to effect the object. 
You pleased me. Wilder ; and I hope the satisfaction 
may be mutual.” 

The newly engaged buccanier bowed to the com- 
pliment of his superior, and appeared at some little 
loss for a reply : As if to get rid of the subject at 
once, he hurriedly observed, — 

“ As we now understand each other, I will intrude 
no longer, but leave you for the night, and return to 
my duty in the morning.” 

“ Leave me ! ” returned the Royer, stopping short 
in his walk, and fastening his eye keenly on the 
other. “ It is not usual for my officers to leave me 
at this hour. A sailor should love his ship, and never 
sleep out of her, unless on compulsion.” 

“We may as well understand each other,” said 
Wilder, quickly. “ If it is to be a slave, and, like 
one of the bolts, a fixture in the vessel, that you need 
me, our bargain is at an end.” • 

“ Hum ! I admire your spirit, sir, much more than 
your discretion. You will find me an attached friend, 
and one who little likes a separation, however short. 
Is there not enough to content you here ? I will not 
speak of such low considerations as those which ad- 
minister to the ordinary appetites. But, you have 


THE RED ROVER. 


99 


been taught the value of reason ; here are books— 
you have taste ; here is elegance — you are poor ; 
here#s wealth.” 

“ They amount to nothing, without liberty,” cold- 
ly returned the other. 

“ And what is this liberty you ask ? I hope, young 
man, you would not so soon betray the confidence 
you have just re'ceived ! Our acquaintance is but 
short, and I may have been too hasty in my faith.” 

“ I must return to the land,” Wilder added, firmly, 
“ if it be only to know that I am intrusted, and am 
not a prisoner.” 

“ There is generous sentiment, or deep villany, 
in all this,” resumed the Rover, after a minute of 
deep thought. “ I will believe the former. De- 
clare to me, that, while in the town of Newport, 
you will inform no soul of the true character of this 
ship.” 

“ I will swear it,” eagerly interrupted Wilder. 

“ Off this cross,” rejoined the Rover, with a sar- 
castic laugh ; “on this diamond-mounted cross ! No, 
sir,” he added, with a proud curl of the lip, as he 
cast the jewel contemptuously aside, “oaths are made 
for men who need laws to keep them to their prom- 
ises ; I need no more than the clear and unequivocal 
affirmation of a gentleman.” 

“ Then, plainly and unequivocally do I declare, 
that, while in Newport, I will discover the character 
of this ship to no one, without your wish, or order 
so to do. Nay more” — 

“ No more. It is wise to be sparing of our pledges, 
and to say no more than the occasion requires. The 
time may come when you might do good to yourself, 
without harming me, by being unfettered by a prom- 
ise. In an hour, you shall land ; that time 'will be 
needed to make you acquainted with the terms of 
your enlistment, and to grace my rolls with your 


100 


T^HE RED ROVER* 


name. — Roderick,” he added, again touching the 
gong, “ yoii are wanted, boy.” ^ 

The same active lad, that had made his appear- 
ance at the first summons, ran up the steps from the 
cabin beneath, and announced his presence again by 
his voice. 

“ Roderick,” continued the Rover, “ this is my 
future lieutenant, and, of course, your officer, and 
my friend. Will you take refreshment, sir ? there 
is little, that man needs, which Roderick cannot 
supply.” 

“ 1 thank you ; I have need of none.” 

“ Then, have the goodness to follow the boy. He 
will show you into the dining apartment beneath, 
and give you the written regulations. In an hour, 
you will have digested the code, and by tliat time 1 
shall be with you. Throw the light more upon the 
ladder, boy ; you can descend without a ladder though, 
it would seem, or I should not, at this momeot^have 
the pleasure of your company.” 

The intelligent smile of the Rover was unanswer- 
ed by any corresponding evidence from the subject 
of his joke, that he found satisfaction in the remem- 
brance of the awkward situation in which he had 
been left in the tower. The former caught the dis- 
pleased expression of the other’s countenance, as he 
gravely prepared to follow the boy, who already stood 
in the hatchway with a light. Advancing a step, 
with the grace and tones of sensitive breeding, he 
said quickly, — 

“ Mr Wilder, I owe you an apology for my seem- 
ing rudeness at parting on the hill. Though I believed 
you mine, I was not sure of my acquisition. You 
will readily see how necessary it might he, to one in 
my situation, to throw off a companion at such a 
moment.” 

Wilder turned, with a countenance from which 


THE RED ROVER. 101 

every shade of displeasure had vanished, and mo- 
tioned to him to say no more. 

“ It was awkward enough, certainly, to lind one's 
sell in such a prison ; but I feel the justice of what 
you say. I might have done the very thing myself, 
if the same presence of mind were at hand to help 
me.” 

“ The good man, who grinds in the Newport ruin, 
must be in a sad way, since all the rats are leaving 
his mill,” cried the Rover gaily, as his companion 
descended after the boy. Wilder now freely return- 
ed his open, cordial laugh, and then, as he descended, 
the cabin was left to him who, a few minutes before, 
had beei» found in its quiet possession. 




CHAPTER VII. 

“ The world affords no law to moke thee rich , 

Then be not poor, but break it, and take this.” 

Apotk. “ My poverty, but not my will, consents.” 

Romeo and Juliet. 

The Rover arrested his step, as the other disap- 
peared, and stood for more than a minute in an at- 
titude of high and self-gratulating triumph. It was 
quite apparent he was exulting in his success. But, 
though his intelligent face betrayed the satisfaction 
of the inward man, it was illumined by no expres- 
sion of vulgar joy. It was the countenance of one 
who was suddenly relieved from intense care, rather 
than that of a man who was greedy of profiting by 
the services of others. Indeed, it would not have 
been difficult, for a close and practised observer, to 
have detected a shade of regret in the lightings of 
his seductive smjle, or in the momentary flashes of 
his changeful eye. The feeling, however, quickly 
passed away, and his whole figure and countenance 


102 


THE RED ROVER. 


resumed the ordinary easy mien in which he most 
indulged in his hours of retirement. 

After allowing sufficient time for the boy to con- 
duct Wilder to the necessary cabin, and to put him 
in possession of the regulations for the police of the 
ship, the Captain again touched the gong, and once 
more summoned the former to his presence. The lad 
had, however, to approach the elbow of his master, 
and to speak thrice, before the other was conscious 
that he had answered his call. 

“ Roderick,” said the Rover, after a long pause, 
“ are you there?” 

“ 1 am here,” returned a low, and seemingly a 
mournful voice. 

“ Ah ! you gave him the regulations ?” 

“ 1 did.” 

“ And he reads?” 

“ He reads.” 

“It is well. I would speak to the General. Rod- 
erick, you must have need of rest ; good night ; let 
the General be summoned to a council, and — Good 
night, Roderick.” 

The boy made an assenting reply ; but, instead of 
springing, with his former alacrity, to execute the or- 
der, he lingered a moment nigh his master’s chair. 
Failing, however, in his wish to catch his eye, he 
slowly and reluctantly descended the stairs which 
led into the lower cabins, and was seen no more. 

It is needless to describe the manner in which the 
General made his second appearance. It dilfered 
in no particular from his former entree, except that, 
on this occasion, the whole of his person was devel- 
oped. He appeared a tall, upright form, that was 
far from being destitute of natural grace and propor- 
tions, but which had been so exquisitely drilled into 
simultaneous movement, that the several members 
had so far lost the power of volition, as to render it 
impossible for one to stir, without producing some- 


THE RED ROVER. 


103 


l-hing like a correspondent demonstration in all its fel- 
lows. This rigid and well-regidated personage, after 
making a formal military bow to his superior, helped 
himself to a chair, in which, after some little time 
lost in preparation, he seated .liimself in silence. 
The RoVer seemed conscious of his presence; for 
he acknowledged his salute by a gentle inclination 
of his own head ; though he did not appear to think 
it necessary to suspend his ruminations the more on 
that account. At length, however, he turned short 
upon his companion, and said abruptly, — 

“ General, the campaign is not finished.” 

“ What remains ? the field is won, and the enemy 
is a prisoner.” 

“ Ay, your part of the adventure is well achieved, 
but much of mine remains to be done. You saw 
the youth in the lowei* cabin ?” 

“ J did.” 

“ And how find you his appearance ?” 

“ Maritime.” 

“ That is as much as to say, you like him not.” 

“ I like discipline.” 

“ 1 am much mistaken if you do not find him to 
your taste on the quarter-deck. Let that be as it 
may, I have still a favour to ask of you !” 

“ A favour ! — it is getting late.” 

“ Did I say ‘ a favour?’ there is duty to be yet 
done.” 

“ I wait your orders.” 

“ It is necessary that we use great precaution ; 
for, as you know” 

“ I wait your orders,” laconically repeated the 
other. 

,, The Rover compressed his mouth, and a scornful 
smile struggled about the nether lip ; but it changed 
into a look half bland, half authoritative, as he con- 
tinued, — 

“ You will find two seamen, in a skiff, alongside 


104 


THE RED ROVER. 


the sliip ; the one is white, and the other is black. 
These men you will have conducted into the ves- 
sel — into one of the forward state-rooms — and you 
will have them both thoroughly intoxicated. ” 

“ Tt shall be dgne,” returned he who was called 
the General, rising', and marching with loyg strides 
towards the door of the cabin. 

“ Pause a moment,” exclaimed the Rover; “what 
agent will you use ?” 

“ Nightingale has the strongest head but one in 
the ship.” 

“ He is too far gone already. I sent him ashore, 
to look about for any straggling seamen who might 
like our service ; and I found him in a tavern, with 
all the fastenings off his longue, declaiming like a 
lawyer who had taken a fee from both parties. 
Besides, he had a quarrel with one of these very 
men, and it is probable they would get to blows in 
their cups.” 

“ I will do it myself. My night-cap is waiting for 
rhe ; and it is only to lace it a little lighter thap 
common.” 

The Rover seemed content with this assurance ; 
for he expressed his satisfaction with a familiar nod 
of the head. The soldier was now about to depart, 
when he was again interrupted. 

“ One thing more. General ; there is your cap- 
tive.” — 

“ Shall I make. him drunk too ?” 

“ By no means. Let him be conducted hither.” 

The General made an ejaculation of assent, and 
left the cabin. “ It were weak,” thought the Rover, 
as he resumed his walk up and down the apartment, 
“ to trust too much to an ingenuous face and youth- 
ful enthusiasm. I am deceived if the boy has not 
had reason to think himself disgusted with the world, 
and ready to embark in any romantic enterprise ; 
but, still, to be deceived might be fatal ; therefore 


TitE RED ROVER. 


105 


will 1 be prudent, even to excess of caution. He is 
tied in an extraordinary manner to these two sea- 
men. I would I knew his history. But all that 
will come in proper time. The men must remain 
as hostages for his own return, and for his faith. If 
he prove false, why, they are seamen; — and many 
men are expended in this wild service of ours ! It 
is well arranged ; and no suspicion of any plot on 
our part will wound the' sensitive pride of the boy, 
if he be, as I would gladly think, a true man.” 

Such was, in a great manner, the train of thought 
in which the Rover indulged, for many minutes, 
aftpr his military companion had left him. His lips 
moved ; smiles, and dark shades of thought, in turn, 
chased each other from his speaking countenance, 
which betrayed all the sudden and violent changes 
that denote the workings of a busy spirit within. 
Whil6 thus engrossed in mind, his step became more 
rapid, and, at times, he gesticulated a little extrav- 
agantly, when he found himself, in a sudden turn, 
unexpectedly confronted by a form that seemed to 
rise on his sight like a vision. 

While most engaged in his own humours, two 
powerful seamen had, unheeded, entered the cabin ; 
and, after silently depositing a human figure in a seat, 
they withdrew without speaking. It was before this 
personage that the Rover now found himself. The 
gaze was mutual, long, and uninterrupted by a sylla- 
ble from either party. Surprise anit indecision held 
the Rover mute, while wonder and alarm appeared 
to have literally frozen the faculties of the other. At 
length the former, suffering a quaint and peculiar 
smile to gleam for a moment across his countenance, 
said abruptly, — 

“ I welcome sir Hector Homespun !” 

The eyes of the confounded tailor — for it was no 
other than that garrulous acquaintance of the reader 
who had fallen into the toils of the Rover — the 


106 


THE RED ROVER. 


eyes of the good-man rolled from right to left, em- 
bracing, in their wanderings, the medley of elegance 
and warlike preparation that they every where met, 
never failing to return, from each greedy look, to 
devour the figure that stood before him. 

“ I say, Welcome, sir Hector Homespun !” repeat- 
ed the Rover. 

“The Lord will be lenient to the sins of a miser- 
able father of seven small children !” ejaculated the 
tailor. “ It is but little, valiant Pirate, that can be 
gotten from a hard-working, upright tradesman, who 
sits from the rising to the setting sun, bent over his 
labour.” 

“ These are debasing terms for chivalry, sir Hec- 
tor,” intermpted the Rover, laying his hand on the 
little riding whip, which had been thrown carelessly 
on the cabin table, and, tapping the shoulder of the 
tailor with the same, as though he were a sorcerer, 
and would disenchant the other with the touch : 
“ Cheer up, honest and loyal subject : Fortune has at 
length ceased to frown : it is but a few hours since 
you complained that no custom came to your shop 
from this vessel, and now are you in a fair way to do 
the business of the whole ship.” 

“ Ah ! honourable and magnanimous Rover,” re- 
joined Homespun, whose fluency ^returned with his 
senses, “ I am an impoverished and undone man. 
My life has been one of weary and probationary 
hardships. Five bloody and cruel wars” 

“ Enough. I have said that Fortune was just be- 
ginning to smile. Clothes are as necessary to gen- 
tlemen of our profession as to the parish priest. You 
shall not baste a seam without your reward. Be- 
hold !” he added, touching the spring of a secret 
drawer, which flew open, and discovered a confused 
pile of gold, in which the coins of nearly every 
Christian people were blended, “we are not without 
the means of paying those who serve us faithfully.” 


THE RED ROVER. 


10 “ 


The sudden exhibition of a horde of wealth, which 
not only greatly exceeded any thing of the kind he 
had ever before witnessed, but which actually sur- 
passed his limited imaginative powers, was’ not with- 
out its effect on the sensitive feelings of the good- 
man. After feasting on the sight, for the few mo- 
ments that his companion left the treasure exposed 
to view', he turned to the envied possessor of so 
much gold, and demanded, — the tones of increased 
confidence gradually stealing into his voice, as the 
inward man felt additional motives of encourage- 
ment, — 

“And what am I expected to perform, mighty 
Seaman, for' my portion of this wealth?” 

“ That which you daily perform on the land — to 
cut, to fashion, and to sew. Perhaps, too, your tal- 
ent at a masquerade dress may be taxed, from time 
to time.” 

“ Ah ! they are lawless and irreligious devices of 
the enemy, to lead men into sin and worldly abom- 
inations. But, worthy Mariner, there is my discon- 
solate consort. Desire ; though stricken in years, and 
given to wmrdy strife, yet is she the lawful partner 
of my bosom, and the mother of a numerous off- 
spring.” 

“ She shall not want. This is an asylum for dis- 
tressed husbands. Your men, who have not force 
enough to command at home, come to my ship as to 
a city of refuge. You will make the seventh who has 
found peace by fleeing to this sanctuary. Their fam- 
ilies are supported by ways best known to ourselves, 
and all parties are content. This is not the least of 
my benevolent acts.” 

“ It is praiseworthy and just, honourable Captain ; 
and I hope that Desire and her offspring may not be 
forgotten. The labourer is surely worthy of his hire ; 
and if, peradventure, I should toil in your behalf, 


108 


THE RED ROVER. 


through stress of compulsion, I hope the good woman, 
and her young, may fatten on your liberality.” 

“ You have my word ; they shall not be neglected.” 
“ Perhaps, just Gentleman, if an allotment should 
be made in advance from that stock of gold, the 
^ " vould be relieved, her inquiries 



searching, and her spirit less 


troubled. I have reason to understand the temper 
of Desire ; and am well identified, that, while the 
prospect of want is before her eyes, there will be a 
clamour in Newport. Now that the Lord has gra- 
ciously given me the hopes of a respite, there can be 
no sin in wishing to enjoy it in peace.” 

Although the Rover was far from believing, with 
his captive, that the tongue of Desire could disturb 
the harmony of his ship, he was in the humour to be 
indulgent. Touching the spring again, he took a 
handful of the gold, and, extending it towards Home- 
spun, demanded, — 

“ Will you take the bounty, and the oath ? The 
money will then be your own.” 

“ The Lord defend us from the evil one, and de- 
liver us all from temptation !” ejaculated the tailor: 

Heroic Rover, I have a dread of the law. Should 
any evil overcome you, in the shape of a King’s 
cruiser, or a tempest cast you on the land, there 
might be danger in being contaminated too closely 
with your crew. Any little services which I may 
render, on compulsion, will be overlooked, I humbly 
hope ; and 1 trust to your magnanimity, honest and 
honourable Commander, that the same will not be 
forgotten in the division of your upright earnings.” 

This is but the spirit of cabbaging, a little dis- 
torted,” muttered the Rover, as he turned lightly on 
his heel, and tapped the gong, with an impatience 
that sent the startling sound through every cranny of 
the ship. Four or five heads were thrust in at the dif- 


THE RED ROVER. 


109 


ferent doors of the cabin, and the voice of one was 
heard, desiring to know the wishes of their leader. 

“ Take him to his hammock,” was the quick, 
sudden order. 

The good-man Homespun, who, from fright or 
policy, appeared to be utterly unable to move, was 
quickly lifted from his seat, and conveyed to the 
door which communicated with the quarter-deck. , 

“ Pause,” he exclaimed to his unceremonious 
bearers, as they were about to transport hirh to the 
place designated by their Captain ; “ I have one 
word yet to say. Honest and loyal Rebel, though I 
do not accept your service, neither do I refuse it in 
an unseemly and irreverent manner. It is a sore 
temptation, and I feel it at my fingers’ ends. But a 
covenant may be.made between us, by which neither 
party shall be a loser, and in which the law shall 
find no grounds of displeasure. I would wish, 
mighty Commodore, to carry an honest name to my 
grave, and I would also wish to live out the number 
of my days ; for, after having passed with so much 
credit, and unharmed, through five bloody and cruel 
wars” — 

“ Away with him !” was the stern and startling 
interruption. 

Homespun vanished, as though magic had been 
employed in transporting him, and the Rover was 
again left to himself. His meditations were not in- 
terrupted, for a long time, by human footstep or 
voice. That breathing stillness, which unbending 
and stern discipline can alone impart, pervaded the 
ship. A landsman, seated in the cabin, might have 
fancied himself, although surrounded by a crew of 
lawless and violent men, in the solitude of a desert- 
ed church, so suppressed, and deadened, were even 
those sounds that were absolutely necessary. There 
were heard at times, it is true, the high and harsh 
notes of some reveller who appeared to break forth 
VoL. I K 


110 


THE RED ROVER. 


in the strains of a sea song, which, as they issued 
from the depths of the vessel, and were not very 
musical in themselves, broke on the silence like the 
first discordant strains of a new practitioner on a 
bugle. But even these interruptions gradually grew 
less frequent, and finally became inaudible. At 
length the Rover heard a hand fumbling about the 
handle of the cabin door, and then his military friend 
once more made his appearance. 

There was that in the step, the countenance, and 
the whole air of the General, which proclaimed 
that his recent service, if successful, had not been 
achieved entirely without personal hazard. The 
Rover, who had started from his seat the moment he 
saw who had entered, instantly demanded his report. 

“ The white is so drunk, that he cannot lie down 
without holding on to the mast; but the negro is 
either a cheat, or his head is made of flint.” 

“ 1 hope you have not too easily abandoned the 
design.” 

‘‘ 1 would as soon batter a mountain ! my retreat 
was not made a minute too soon.” 

The Rover fastened his eyes on the General, for a 
moment, in order to assure himself of the precise 
condition of his subaltern, ere he replied, — 

“ It is well. We will now retire for the night.” 

The other carefully dressed his tall person, and 
brought his face in the direction of the little hatch- 
way so often named. Then, by a sort of desperate 
effort, he essayed to march to the spot, with his cus- 
tomary upright mien and military step. As onh or 
two erratic movements, and crossings of the legs, 
were pot commented on by his Captain, the worthy 
martinet descended the stairs, as he believed, with- 
sufficient dignity ; the moral man not being in the 
precise state which is the best adapted to discover 
any little blunders that might be made by his physi- 
cal coadjutor. The Rover looked at his watch ; and, 


THE REI> ROVER. 


Ill 


after allowing sulFicient time for the deliberate re- 
treat of the General, he stepped lightly on the stairs, 
and descended also. 

The lower apartments of the vessel, though less 
ctriking in their equipments than the upper cabin, 
were arranged with great attention to neatness and 
comfort. A few oftices for the servants occupied 
the extreme after-part of the ship, communicating 
by doors with the dining apartment of the secondary 
ofiicers ; or, as it was called in technical language, 
the “ ward-room.” On either side of this, again, were 
the state-rooms, an imposing name, by which the 
dormitories of those who are entitled to the honours 
of the quarter-deck are ever called. Forward of 
the ward-room, came the apartments of the minor 
officers ; and, immediately in front of them, the 
corps of the individual who was called the General 
was lodged, forming, by their discipline, a barrier be- 
tween the more lawless seamen and their superiors. 

There was little departure, in this disposition of 
the accommodations, from the ordinary arrangements 
of vessels of war of the same description and force 
as the ‘‘ Rover but Wilder had not failed to re- 
mark, that theffiulkheads which separated the cabins 
from the birth-deck, or the part occupied by the 
crew, were far stouter than common, and that a 
small howitzer was at hand, to be used, as a physi- 
cian might say, internally, should occasion require. 
The doors were of extraordinary strength, and the 
means of b’arricadoing them resembled more a prep- 
aration for battle, than the usual securities against 
petty encroachments on private property. Muskets, 
blunderbusses, pistols, sabres, half-pikes, &c., were 
fixed to the beams and carlings, or were made to 
serve as ornaments against the different bulkheads, 
in a profusion that plainly told they were there as 
much for use as for show. In short, to the eye of a 
seaman, the whole betrayed a state of things, in 


112 


THE RED ROVER. 


which the superiors felt that their whole security, 
against the violence and insubordination of their in- 
feriors, depended on their influence and their ability 
to resist, united ; and that the former had not deem- 
ed it prudent to neglect any of the precautions which 
might aid their comparatively less powerful physical 
force. 

In the principal of the lower apartments, or the 
ward-room, the Rover found his newly enlisted lieu- 
tenant, apparently busy in studying the regulations 
of the service in which he had just embarked. Ap- 
proaching the corner in which the latter had seated 
himself, the former said, in a frank, encouraging, and 
even confidential manner, — 

“ I hope you find our laws sufficiently firm, Mr 
Wilder.” 

“ Want of firmness is not their fault ; if the same 
quality can always be observed in administering 
them, it is well,” returned the other, rising to salute 
his superior. “ I have never found such rigid rules, 
even in ” 

“Even in what, sir?” demanded the Rover, per- 
ceiving that his companion hesitated. 

“ I was about to say, ‘ Even in his Majesty’s ser- 
vice,’ ” returned Wilder, slightly colouring. “ I know 
not whether it may be a fault, or a recommendation, 
to have served in a King’s ship.” 

“ It is the latter ; at least I, for one, should 
think it so, since I learned my trade in the same 
service.” 

“ In what ship ?” eagerly interrupted Wilder. 

“ In many,” was the cold reply. “ But, speaking 
of rigid rules, you will soon perceive, that, in a service 
where there are no courts on shore to protect us, 
nor any sister-cruisers to look after each other’s wel- 
fare, no small portion of power is necessarily vested 
in the Commander. You find my authority a good 
deal extended.” 


THE RED ROVER. 


113 


“ A little unlimited,” said Wilder, with a smile 
that might have passed for ironical. 

“ I hope you will have no occasion to stiy that it 
is arbitrarily executed,” returned the Rover, without 
observing, or perhaps without letting it appear that 
he observed, the expression of his companion’s coun- 
tenance. “ But your hour is come, and you are now 
at liberty to land.” 

The young man thanked him', with a courteous in- 
clination of the head, and expressed his readiness to 
go. As they ascended the ladder into the upper 
cabin, the Captain expressed his regret that the hour, 
and the necessity of preserving the incognito of his 
ship, would not permit him to send an oflicer of his 
rank ashore in the manner he could wish. 

“ But then there is the skiff, in which you came 
off, still alongside, and your own two stout fellows 
will soon twitch you to yon point. A propos of 
those two men, are they included in our arrange- 
ments ?” 

They have never quitted me since my childhood, 
and would not wish to do it now.” 

“ It is a singular tie that unHes two men, so oddly 
constituted, to one so' different, by habits and educa- 
tion, from themselves,” returned the Rover, glancing 
his eye keenly at the other, and withdrawing it the 
instant he perceived his interest in the answer was 
observed. 

“ It is,” Wilder calmly replied ; “ but, as we are 
all seamen, the difference is not so great as one 
would at first imagine. 1 will now join them, and 
take an opportunity to let them know that they are 
to serve in future under your orders.” 

'Fhe Rover suffered him to leave the cabin, fol- 
lowing to the quarter-deck, with a careless step, as 
if he had come abroad to breathe the open air of the 
night. 

The weather had not changed, but it still con- 
K 2 


114 


THE RED ROVER. 


tinued dark, though mild. The same stillness as 
before reigned on the decks of the ship ; and no- 
where, with a solitary exception, was a human form 
to be seen, amid the collection of dark objects that 
rose on the sight, all of which Wilder well under- 
stood to be necessary fixtures in the vessel. The 
exception was the same individual who had first 
received our adventurer, and who still paced the 
quarter-deck, wrapped, as before, in a watch-coat. 
To this personage the youth now addressed himself, 
announcing his intention temporarily to quit the ves- 
sel. His communication was received with a respect 
that satisfied him his new rank was already known, 
although, as it would seem, it was to be made to 
succumb to the superior authority of the Rover. 

“ You know, sir, that no one, of whatever station, 
can leave the ship at this hour, without an order 
from the Captain,” was the civil, but steady reply. 

“ So I presume ; but I have the order, and trans- 
mit it to you. I shall land in my own boat.” 

The other, seeing a figure within hearing, which 
he well knew to be that of his Commander, waited 
an instant, to ascertain if what he heard was true. 
Finding that no objection was made, nor any sign 
given, to the contrary, he merely indicated the place 
where the other would find his boat. 

“ The men have left it !” exclaimed Wilder, step- 
ping back in surprise, as he was about to descend 
the vessel’s side. 

“ Have the rascals run ?” 

‘‘ Sir, they have not run ; neither are they ras- 
cals. They are in this ship, and must be found,” 

The other waited, to witness the effect of these 
authoritative words, too, on the individual, who still 
lingered in the shadow of a mast. As no answer 
was, however, given from that quarter, he saw the 
necessity of obedience. Intimating his intention to 
seek the men, he passed into the forward parts of 


THE RED ROVER. 


115 


the vessel, leaving Wilder, as he thought, in the sole 
possession of the quarter-deck. The latter was, 
however, soon undeceived. The Rover, advancing 
carelessly to his side, made an allusion to the con- 
dition of his vessel, in order .to divert the thoughts 
of his new lieutenant, who, by his hurried manner of 
pacing the deck, he saw, was beginning to indulge 
in uneasy meditations. 

“ A charming sea-boat, Mr Wilder,” he continued, 
‘‘ and one that never throws a drop of spray abaft 
her mainmast. She is just the craft a seaman loves ; 
easy on her rigging, and lively in a sea. I call her 
the ‘ Dolphin,’ from the manner in which she cuts 
the water ; and, perhaps, because she has as many 
colours as that fish, you will say — Jack must have a 
name for his ship, you know, and I dislike your cut- 
throat appellations, your ‘ Spit-fires’ and ‘ Bloody- 
murders.’ ” 

“You were fortunate in finding such a vessel. 
Was she built to your orders ?” 

“ Few ships, under six hundred tons, sail from 
these colonies, that swe not built to serve my pur- 
poses,” returned the Rover, with a smile ; as if he 
would cheer his companion, by displaying the mine 
of wealth that was opening to him, through the new 
connexion he had made. “ This vessel was originally 
built for his Most Faithful Majesty ; and, I believe, 
was either intended as a present or a scourge to the 
Algerines ; but — but she has changed owners, as you 
see, and her fortune is a little altered ; though how, 
or why, is a trifle with which we will not, just now, 
divert ourselves. I have had her in port ; she has 
undergone some improvements, and is now altogether 
suited to a running trade.” 

“ You then venture, sometimes, inside the forts ?” 

“ When you have leisure, my private journal may 
allbrd some interest,” the other evasively replied. 


IIG 


THE RED ROVER. 


“ 1 hope, Mr Wilder, you find this vessel in such a 
state that a seaman need not blush for her ?” 

Her beauty and neatness first caught my eye, 
and induced me to make closer inquiries into her 
character.” • 

“ You were quick in seeing that she was kept at a 
single anchor !” returned the other, laughing. “ But 
I never risk any thing without a reason ; not even 
the loss of my ground tackle. It would be no great 
achievement, for so warm a battery as this I carry, 
to silence yonder apology for a fort ; but, in doing it, 
we might receive an unfortunate hit, and therefore 
do I keep ready for an instant departure.” 

“ It must be a little awkward, to fight in a war 
where one cannot lower his flag in any emergency !” 
said Wilder ; more like one who mused, than one 
who intended to express the opinion aloud. 

“ The bottom is always beneath us,” was the la- 
conic answer. “ But to you I may say, that 1 am, 
on principle, tender on my spars. They are exam- 
ined daily, like the heels of a racer; for it often 
happens that our valour musk be well-tempered by 
discretion.” 

“ And how, and where, do you refit, when damag- 
ed in a gale, or in a fight ?” 

“ Hum ! We contrive to refit, sir, and to take the 
sea in tolerable condition.” 

He stopped ; and Wilder, perceiving that he was 
not yet deemed entitled to entire confidence, contin- 
ued silent. In this pause, the officer returned, fol- 
lowed by the black alone. A few words served to 
explain the condition of Fid. It was very apparent 
that the young man was not only disappointed, but 
that he was deeply mortified. The frank and ingen- 
uous air, however, with which he turned to the Ro- 
ver, to apologize for the dereliction of his follower, 
satisfied the latter that he was far from suspecting 


THE RED ROVER. 


117 


any improper agency in bringing about his awkward 
condition. 

“ You know the character of seamen too well, 
sir,” he said, “ to impute this oversight to my poor 
fellow as a heinous fault. A better sailor never lay 
on a yard, or stretched a ratlin, than Dick Fid ; but 
1 must allow he has the quality of good fellowship 
to excess.” 

“ You are fortunate in having one man left you 
to pull the boat ashore,” carelessly returned the 
other. 

“ I am more than equal to that little exertion my- 
self: nor do I like to separate the men. With your 
permission, the black shall be birthed, too, in the 
ship to-night.” 

“ As you please. Empty hammocks are not scarce 
among us, since the last brush.” 

Wilder then directed the negro to return to his 
messmate, and to watch over him so long as he should 
be unable to look after himself. The black, who 
was far from being as clear-headed as common, wil- 
lingly complied. The young man then took leave 
of his companions, and descended into the skiff. As 
he pulled, with vigorous arms, away from the dark 
ship, his eyes were cast upward, with a seaman’s 
pleasure, on the order and neatness of her gear, and 
thence they fell on the frowning mass of the hull. 
A light-built, compact form was seen standing on the 
heel of the bowsprit, apparently watching his move- 
ments ; and, notwithstanding the gloom of the cloud- 
ed star-light, he was enabled to detect, in the indi- 
vidual who took so much apparent interest in his 
proceedings, the person of the Rover. 


118 


THE RED ROVER. 


CHAPTER VIII. 

“ What is yon gentleman 

Nurse. “ The son and heir of old Tiberio.” 

Juliet. “ What’s he that follows there, that would not dance ?” 
Nurse. “ Marry, I know not.” 

Romeo and Juliet. 


The sun was just heaving up, out of the field of 
waters in which the blue islands of Massachusetts 
lie, when the inhabitants of Newport were seen 
opening their doors and windows, and preparing for 
the different employments of the day, with the fresh- 
ness and alacrity of people who had wisely adhered 
to the natural allotments of time in seeking their 
rests, or in pursuing their pleasures. The morning 
salutations passed cheerfully from one to another, as 
each undid the slight fastenings of his shop ; and 
many a kind inquiry was made, and returned, after 
the condition of a daughter’s fever, or the rheumatism 
of some aged grandam. As the landlord of the 
“ Foul Anchor” was so wary in protecting the char- 
acter of his house from any unjust imputations of 
unseemly revelling, so was he among the foremost 
in opening his dQor&, to catch any transient customer, 
who might feel the necessity of washing away the 
damps of the past night, in some invigorating stom- 
achic. This cordial was very generally taken in the 
British provinces, under the various names of “ bit- 
ters,” “juleps,” “morning-drams,” “fogmatics,” &c., 
according as the situation of each district appeared 
to require some particular preventive. The custom 
is getting a little into disuse, it is, true ; but still it 
retains much of that sacred character which it would 
seem is the concomitant of antiquity. It is not a 
little extraordinary that this venerable and laudable 
practice, of washing away the unwholesome impuri- 
ties engendered in the human system, at a time when, 


THE RED ROVER. 


119 


as it is entirely without any moral protector, it is 
left exposed to the attacks of all the evils to which 
flesh is heir, should subject the American to the wit- 
ticisms of his European brother. We are not among 
the least grateful to those foreign philanthropists who 
take so deep an interest in our welfare as seldom to 
let any republican foible pass, without applying to 
it, as it merits, the caustic application of their puri- 
fying pens. We are, perhaps, the more sensible of 
this generosity, because we have had so much occa- 
sion to witness, that, so great is their zeal in behalf 
of our infant States, (robust, and a little unmanage- 
able perhaps, but still infant) they are wont, in the 
w'armth of their ardour, to reform Cis-atlantic sins, 
to overlook not a few backslidings of their own. 
Numberless are the moral missionaries that the 
mother country, for instance, has sent among us, on 
these pious and benevolent errands. We can only 
regret that their efforts have been crowned with so 
little success. It was our fortune to be familiarly 
acquainted with one of these worthies, who never 
lost an opportunity of declaiming, above all, against 
the infamy of the particular practice to which we 
have just alluded. Indeed, so broad was the ground 
he took, that he held it to be not only immoral, but, 
what was far worse, ungenteel, to swallow anything 
stronger than small beer, before the hour allotted to 
dinner. After that important period, it was not only 
jiermitted to assuage the previous mortifications of 
the flesh, but, so liberal did he show himself in the 
orthodox indulgence, that he was regularly carried 
to his bed at midnight, from which he as regularly 
issued, in the course of the following morning, to 
discourse again on the thousand deformities of pre- 
mature drink. And here we would take occasion 
to say, that, as to our own insignificant person, we 
eschew the abomination altogether ; and only regret 
that those of the two nations, who find pleasuie in 


120 


THE RED ROVER. 


the practice, could not come to some amicable un- 
derstanding as to the precise period, of the twenty- 
four hours, when it is permitted to such Christian 
gentlemen as talk English to get drunk. That the 
negotiators who framed the last treaty of amity 
should have overlooked this important moral topic, 
is another evidence that both parties were so tired 
of an unprofitable war as to patch up a peace in a 
hurry. .It is not too late to name a commission for 
this purpose ; and, in order that the question may be 
fairly treated on its merits, we presume to suggest to 
the Executive the propriety of nominating, as our 
commissioner, some confirmed advocate of the s-ys- 
tem of “juleps.” It is believed our worthy and in- 
dulgent Mother can have no difficulty in selecting a 
suitable opponent from the ranks of her numerous 
and well-trained diplomatic corps. 

With this manifestation of our personal liberality, 
united to so much interest in the proper, and we 
hope final, disposition of this important question, we 
may be permitted to resume the narrative, without 
being set down as advocates for morning stimulants, 
or evening intoxication ; which is a very just divis- 
ion of the whole subject, as we believe, from no 
very limited vbservation. 

The landlord of the “ Foul Anchor,” then, was 
early a-foot, to gain an honest penny from any of the 
supporters of the former system who might chance 
to select his bar for their morning sacrifices to Bac- 
chus, in preference to that of his neighbour, he who 
endeavoured to entice the lieges, by exhibiting a red- 
faced man, in a scarlet coat, that was called the 
“ Head of George the Second.” It would seem 
that the commendable activity of the alert publican 
was not to go without its reward. The tide of cus- 
tom set strongly, for the first half-hour, towards the 
haven of his hospitable bar; nor did he appear en- 
tirely to abandon the. hopes of a further influx, even 


THE RED ROVER. 


121 


after the usual period of such arrivals began to pass 
away. Finding, however, that his -customers were 
beginning to depart, on their several pursuits, he left 
his station, and appeared at the outer door, with a 
hand in each pocket, as though he found a secret 
pleasure in the merry jingling of their new tenants. 
A stranger, who had not entered with the others, 
and who, of course, had not partaken of the cus- 
tomary libations, was standing at a little distance, 
with a hand thrust into the bosom of his vest, as if 
he were chiefly occupied with his own reflections. 
This figure caught the understanding eye of the pub- 
lican, who instantly conceived that no man, who had 
had recourse to the proper morning stimulants, could 
wear so meditative a face at that early period in the 
cares of the day, and that consequently something 
was yet to be gained, by opening the path of direct 
communication between them. 

“ A clean air this, friend, to brush away the damps 
of the night,” he said, snuffing the really delicious 
and invigorating breathings of a fine October morn- 
ing. “ It is such purifiers as this, that gives our island 
its character, and makes it perhaps the very health- 
iest, as it is universally admitted to be the beautiful- 
lest, spot in creation. — A stranger here, ’tis likely ?” 

“ But quite lately arrived, sir,” was the reply. 

“A seafaring man, by your dress? and one in 
search of a ship, as I am ready to qualify to ;” con- 
tinued the publican, chuckling, perhaps, at his own 
penetration. “We have many such that passes here- 
away ; but people mustn’t think, because Newport 
is so flourishing a town, that births can always be had 
for asking. Have you tried your luck yet in the 
Capital of the Bay Province ?” 

** “I left Boston no later than the day before yester- 
day.” 

“What, couldn’t the proud townsfolk find you a 
ship ! Ay, they are a mighty people at talking, and 
VoL. 1. 


122 


THE RED ROVER. 


it isn’t often that they put their candle under the 
bushel ; and yet there are what I call good judges, 
who think Narraganset Bay is in a fair way, shortly, 
to count as many sail as Massachusetts. There, 
yonder, is a wholesome brig, that is going, within the 
week, to turn her horses into rum and sugar ; and 
here is a ship that hauled into the stream no longer 
ago than yesterday sun-down. That is a noble ves- 
sel, and has cabins fit for a prince ! She’ll be off 
with the change of the wind ; and I dare say a good 
hand wouldn’t go a-begging aboard her just now. 
Then yonder is a slaver, off the fort, if you like a 
cargo of wool-heads for your money.” 

“ And is it thought the ship in the inner harbour 
will sail with the first wind ?” demanded the stran- 
ger. 

“ It is downright. My wife is a full cousin to the 
wife of the Collector’s clerk ; and I have it straight 
that the papers are ready, and that nothing but the 
wind detains them. I keep some short scores, you 
know, friend, with the blue-jackets, and it behoves 
an honest man to look to his interests in thes^ hard 
times. Yes, there she lies ; a well-known ship, the 
‘ Royal Caroline.’ She makes a regular v’yage once 
a year between the Provinces and Bristol, touching 
here, out and home, to give us certain supplies, and 
to wood and water ; and then she goes home, or to 
the Carolinas, as the case may be.” 

“ Pray, sir, has she much of an armament ?” con- 
tinued the stranger, who began to lose his thoughtful 
air, in the more evident interest he was beginning to 
take in the discourse. 

“ Yes, yes ; she is not without a few bull-dogs, to 
bark in defence of her own rights, and to say. a word 
in support of his Majesty’s honour, too ; God bless 
him ! Judy ! you Jude !” he shouted, at the top of 
his voice, to a negro girl, who was gathering kind- 
ling-wood among the chips of a ship-yard, “ scamper 


THE RED ROVER. 


123 


over to neighbour Homespun’s, and rattle away at 
his bed-room windows: the man has overslept him- 
self: it is not common to hear seven o’clock strike, 
and the thirsty tailor not appear for his bitters.” 

A short cessation took place in the dialogue, while 
the wench was executing her master’s orders. The 
summons produced no other effect than to draw a 
shrill reply from Desire, whose voice penetrated, 
through the thin board coverings of the little dwell- 
ing, as readily as sound would be conveyed through 
a sieve. In another moment a window was opened, 
and the worthy housewife thrust her disturbed visage; 
into the fresh air of the morning. 

“ What next ! what next !” demanded the offend- 
ed, and, as she was fain to believe, neglected wife, 
under the impression that it was her truant husband, 
making his tardy return to his domestic allegiance, 
who had thus presumed to disturb her slumbers. Is 
it not enough tkat you have eloped from my bed and 
board, for a long night, but you must dare to break 
in on the natural rest of a whole family, seven bless- 
ed children, without counting their mother ! O Hec- 
tor ! Hector ! an example are you getting to be to the 
young and giddy, and a warning will you yet prove 
to the unthoughtful !” 

“ Bring hither the black book,” said the publican 
to his wife, who had been drawn to a window by the 
lamentations of Desire ; “ I think the woman said 
something about starting on a journey between two 
days ; and, if such has been the philosophy of the 
good-man, it behoves all honest people to look into 
their accounts. Ay, as I live, Keziah, you have let 
the limping beggar get seventeen and sixpence into 
arrears, and that for such trifles as morning-drams 
and night-caps !” 

“ You are wrathy, friend, without reason ; the man 
has made a garment for the boy at school, and found 
the”— 


124 


THE RED ROVER. 


“ Hush, good woman,” interrupted her husband, 
returning the book, and making a sign for her to re- 
tire ; “ I dare say it will all come round in proper 
time, and the less noise we make about the back- 
slidings of a neighbour, the less will be said of our 
own transgressions. A worthy and hard-working 
mechanic, sir,” he continued, addressing the stran- 
ger ; “ but a man who could never get the sun to 
shine in at his windows, though. Heaven knows, the 
glass is none too thick for such a blessing.” 

“ And do you imagine, on evidence as slight as 
this we have seen, that such a man has actually ab- 
sconded?” 

“ Why, it is a calamity that has befallen his bet- 
ters!” returned the publican, interlocking his fingers 
across the rotundity of his person, with an air of 
grave consideration. “We innkeepers — who live, 
as it were, in plain sight of every man’s secrets ; for 
it is after a visit to us that one is apt truly to open 
his heart — should know something of the affairs of a 
neighbourhood. If the good-man Homespun could 
smooth down the temper of his companion as easily 
as he lays a seam into its place, the thing might not 
occur, but ^Do you drink this morning, sir ?” 

“ A drop of your best.” 

“ As I was saying,” continued the other, while he 
furnished his customer, according to his desire, “ if a 
tailor’s goose would take the wrinkles out of the 
ruffled temper of a woman, as it does out of the 
cloth ; and then, if, after it had done this task, a man 
might eat it, as he would yonder bird hanging behind 

my bar Perhaps you will have occasion to make 

your dinner with us, too, sir ?” 

“ I cannot say I shall not,” returned the stranger, 
paying for the dram he had barely tasted ; “ it great- 
ly depends on the result of my inquiries concerning 
the different vessels in the port.” 

“ Then would I, though perfectly disinterested, as 


THE RED ROVER. 


125 


you know, sir, recommend you to make this house 
your home, while you sojourn in the town. It is the 
resort of most of the seafaring men ; and I may say 
this much of myself, without conceit — No man can 
tell you more of what you want to know, than the 
landlord of the ‘ Foul Anchor.’ ” 

“ You advise an application to the Commander o 
tliis vessel, in the stream, for a birth : Will she sai 
so soon as you have named ?” 

“ With the first wind. I know the whole history 
of the ship, from the day they laid the blocks for her 
keel to the minute when she let her anchor go where 
you now see her. The great Southern Heiress, 
General Grayson’s fine daughter, is to be a passen- 
ger ; she, and her overlooker. Government-lady, I 
believe they call her — a Mrs Wyllys — are waiting 
for the signal, up here, at the residence of Madam 
de Lacey; she that is the relict of the Rear-Admi- 
ral of that name, who is full-sister to the General ; 
and, therefore, an aunt to the young lady, according 
to my reckoning. Many people think the two for- 
tunes will go together ; in which case, he will be 
not only a lucky man, but a rich one, who gets Miss 
Getty Grayson for a wife.” 

The stranger, who had maintained rather an indif- 
ferent manner during the close of the foregoing dia- 
logue, .appeared now disposed to enter into it, with 
a degree of interest suited to the sex and condition 
of the present subject of their discourse. After wait- 
ing to catch the last syllable that the publican chose 
to expend his breath on, he demanded, a little ab- 
ruptly,— 

“ And you say the house near us, on the rising 
ground, is the residence of Mrs de Lacey ?” 

“ If I did, I know nothing of the matter. By ‘ up 
here,’ I mean half a mile off. It is a place fit for a 
lady of her quality, and none of your elbowy dwell- 
ings, like these crowded about us. One may easily 


126 


THE RED ROVER. 


tell the house, by its pretty blinds and its shades. I’ll 
engage there are no such shades, in all Europe, as 
them very trees that stand before the door of Madam 
de Lacey.” 

“ It is very probable,” muttered the stranger, 
who, not appearing quite as sensitive in his provin- 
cial admiration as the publican^ had already relaps- 
ed into his former musing air. Instead of pushing 
the discourse, he suddenly turned the subject, by 
making some common-place remark ; and then, 
repeating the probability of his being obliged to 
return, he walked deliberately away, taking the di- 
rection of the residence of Mrs de Lacey. The 
observing publican would, probably, have found sufli- 
cient matter for observation, in this abrupt termina- 
tion of the interview, had not Desire, at that pre- 
cise moment, broken out of her habitation, and 
diverted his attention, by the peculiarly piquant 
manner in which she delineated the character of her 
delinquent husband. 

The reader has probably, ere this, suspected that 
the individual who had conferred with the publican, 
as a stranger, was not unknown to himself. It was, 
in truth, no other than Wilder. But, in the comple- 
tion of his own secret purposes, the young mariner 
left the wordy war in his rear; and, turning up the 
gentle ascent, against the side of which the town is 
built, he proceeded towards the suburbs. 

It was not difficult to distinguish the house he 
sought, among a dozen other sirriilar retreats, by its 
“ shades,” as the innkeeper, in conformity to a pro- 
vincial use of the word, had termed a few really 
noble elms that grew in the little court before its 
door. In order, however, to assure himself that he 
was right, he confirmed his surmises by actual in- 
quiry, and then continued thoughtfully on his path. 

The morning had, by this time, fairly opened, 
with every appearance of another of those fine, 


THE RED ROVER. 


127 


bland, autumnal days for which the climate is, or 
ought to be, so distinguished. The little air there 
was, came from the south, fanning the face of our ad- 
venturer, as he occasionally paused, in his ascent, to 
gaze at the different vessels in the harbour, like a 
mild breeze in June. In short, it was just such a 
time as one, who is fond of strolling in the fields, is 
apt to seize on with rapture, and which a seaman 
sets down as a day lost in. his reckoning. 

Wilder was first drawn from his musings by the 
sound of a dialogue that came from persons who 
were evidently approaching. There was one voice, 
in particular, that caused his blood to thrill, he knew 
not why, and which appeared unaccountably, even 
to himself, to set in motion every latent faculty of 
his system. Profiting, by the formation of the ground, 
he sprang, unseen, up a little bank, and, approach- 
ing an angle in a low wall, he found himself in the 
immediate proximity of the speakers. 

The wall enclosed the garden and pleasure- 
grounds of a mansion, that he now perceived was 
the residence of Mrs de Lacey. A rustic summer- 
house, which, in the proper season, had been nearly 
buried in leaves and flowers, stood at no great dis- 
tance from the road. By its elevation and position, 
it commanded a view of the town, the harbour, the 
isles of Massachusetts to the east, those of the Provi- 
dence Plantations to the west, and, to the south, an 
illimitable expanse of ocean. As it had now lost its 
leafy covering, there was no difficulty in looking di- 
rectly into its centre, through the rude pillars which 
supported its little dome. Here Wilder discovered 
precisely the very party to whose conversation he 
had been a listener the previous day, while caged, 
with the Rover, in the loft of the ruin. Though the 
Admiral’s widow and Mrs Wyllys were most in ad- 
vance, evidently addressing some one who was, like 
himself, in the public road, the quick eye of the 


128 


THE RED ROVER. 


young sailor soon detected the more enticing person 
of the blooming Gertrude^ in the back-ground. His 
observations were, however, interrupted by a reply 
from the individual who as yet was unseen. Direct- 
ed by the voice. Wilder was next enabled to perceive 
the person of a man in a green old age, who, seated 
on a stone by the way side, appeared to be resting 
his weary limbs, while he answered to some inter- 
rogations from the summer-house. Though his head 
was white, and the hand, which grasped a long 
walking-statr, sometimes trembled, as its owner 
sought additional support from its assistance, there 
was that in the costume, the manner, and the voice 
of tlie speaker, which furnished sufficient evidence 
of his having once been a veteran of the sea. 

“ Lord ! your Ladyship, Ma’am,” he said, in 
tones that were getting tremulous, even while they 
retained the deep characteristic intonations of his 
profession, “ we old sea-dogs never stop to look 
into an almanac, to see which way the wind will 
come after the next thaw, before we put to sea. 
It is enough for us, that the sailing orders are 
aboard, and that the Captain has taken leave of his 
Lady.” 

“ Ah ! the very words of the poor lamented Ad- 
miral !” exclaimed Mrs de Lacey, who evidently 
found great satisfaction in pursuing the discourse 
with this superannuated mariner. “ And then you 
are of opinion, honest friend, that, when a ship is 
ready, she should sail, wdiether the wind is” 

“ Here is another follower of the sea, opportunely 
come to lend us his advice,” interrupted Gertrude, 
with a hurried air, as if to divert the attention of her 
aunt from something very like a dogmatical termina- 
tion of an argument that had just occurred between 
her and Mrs Wyllys ; “ perhaps to serve as an um- 
pire.” 

“ True,” said the latter. “ Pray, what think you 


THE RED ROVER. 


129 


of the weather to-day, sir ? would it be profitable to 
sail in such a time, or not?” 

The young mariner reluctantly withdrew his eyes 
from the blushing Gertrude, who, in her eagerness to 
point him out, had advanced to the front, and was 
now shrinking back, timidly, to the centre of the 
building again, like one who already repented of her 
temerity. He then fastened his look on her who 
put the question ; and so long and riveted was his 
gaze, that she saw fit to repeat it, believing that 
what she had first said was not properly understood. 

“ There is little faith to be put in the weather. 
Madam,” was the dilatory reply. “ A man has fol- 
lowed the sea to but little purpose who is tardy in 
making that discovery.” 

There was something so sweet and gentle, at the 
same time that it was manly, in the voice of Wilder, 
that the ladies, by a common impulse, seemed struck 
with its peculiarities. The neatness of his attire, 
which, while it was strictly professional, was worn 
with an air of smartness, and even bf gentility, that 
rendered it difficult to suppose that he was not en- 
titled to lay claim to a higher station in society than 
that in which he actually appeared, added to this 
impression. Bending her head, with a manner that 
was intended to be polite, a little more perhaps in 
self-respect than out of consideration to the other, 
as if in deference to the equivocal character of his 
appearance, Mrs de Lacey resumed the discourse. 

“ These ladies,” she said, “ are about to embark in 
yonder snip, for the province of Carolina, and we 
were consulting concerning the quarter in which the 
wind will probably blow next. But, in such a vessel, 
it cannot matter much, I should think, sir, whether 
the wind were fair or foul.” 

“ I think not,” was the reply. “ She looks to me 
like a ship that will not do much, let the wind be as 
it may.” 


130 


THE RED ROVER. 


“ She has the reputation of being a very fast sail- 
er. — Reputation ! we know she is such, having come 
from home to the Colonies in the incredibly short 
passage of seven weeks ! But seamen have their 
favourites and pr ’ I believe, like us poor 



therefore excuse me, if 


mortals ashore. 


1 ask this honest veteran for an opinion on this par- 
ticular point also. What do you imagine, friend, to 
be the sailing qualities of yonder ship — she with the 
peculiarly high top-gallant-booms, and such conspic- 
uous round-tops 

The lip of Wilder curled, and a smile struggled 
with the gravity of his countenance ; but he contin- 
ued silent. On the other hand, the old mariner arose, 
and appeared to examine the ship, like one who per- 
fectly comprehended the technical language of the 
Admiral’s widow. 

“ The ship in the inner harbour., your Ladyship,” 
he answered, when his examination was finished, 
“ which is, I suppose, the vessel that Madam means, 
is just such a ship as does a sailor’s eye good to look 
on. A gallant and a safe boat she is, as I will swear ; 
and as to sailing, though she may not be altogether 
a witch, yet is she a fast craft, or I’m no judge of 
blue water, or of those that live on it.” 

“ Here is at once a difference of opinion !” ex- 
claimed Mrs de Lacey. “ I am glad, however, you 
pronounce her safe ; for, although seamen love a 
fast-sailing vessel, these ladies will not like her the 
less for the security. I presume, sir, yi.u will not 
dispute her being sq/e.” 

“ The very quality I should most deny,” was the 
laconic answer of Wilder. 

‘‘ It is remarkable ! This is a veteran seaman, sir, 
and he appears to think differently.” 

“ He may have seen more, in his time, than my- 
self, Madam ; but I doubt whether he can, just now, 
see as well. This is something of a distance to dis» 


THE RED ROVER. 


131 


cover the merits or demerits of a ship : I have been 
nigher.” 

“ Then you really think there is danger to be ap- 
prehended, sir ?” demanded the soft voice of Ger- 
trude, whose fears had gotten the better of her diffi- 
dence. 

“ 1 do. Had I mother, or sister,” touching his 
hat, and bowing to his fair interrogator, as he utter- 
ed the latter word with much emphasis, “ I would 
hesitate to let her embark in that ship. On my hon- 
our, Ladies, I do assure you, that I think this very 
vessel in more danger than any ship which has left, 
or probably will leave, a port in the Provinces this 
autumn.” 

“ This is extraordinary !” observed Mrs Wyllys. 
“It is not the character we have received of the 
vessel, which has been greatly exaggerated, or she is 
entitled to be considered as uncommonly convenient 
and safe. May I ask, sir, on what circumstances you 
have founded this opinion ?” 

“ They are sufficiently plain. She is too lean in 
the harping^ and too full in the counter, to steer. 
Then, she is as wall-sided as a church, and stows 
too much above the water-line. Besides this, she 
carries no head-sail, but all the press upon her will 
be aft, which will jam her into the wind, and, more 
than likely, throw her aback. The day will come 
when that ship will go down stern foremost.” 

His auditors listened to this opinion, which 
Wilder delivered in an oracular and very decided 
manner, with that sort of secret faith, and hum- 
ble dependance, which the uninstructed are so apt 
to lend to the initiated in the mysteries of any im- 
posing profession. Neither of them had certainly a 
very clear perception of his meaning; but there 
were, apparently, danger and death in his very 
words. Mrs de Lacey felt it incumbent on her pecu- 


132 


THE RED ROVER. 


liar advantages, however, to manifest how well she 
comprehended the subject. 

“ These are certainly very serious evils !” she 
exclaimed. “ It is quite unaccountable that my 
agent should have neglected to mention them. Is 
there any other particular quality, sir, that strikes 
your eye at this distance, and which you deem alarm- 
ing?” 

“ Too many. You observe that her top-gallant- 
masts are fidded abaft ; none of her lofty sails set 
flying ; and then. Madam, she has depended on hob- 
steys and gammonings for the security of that very 
important part of a vessel, the bowsprit.” 

“ Too true ! too true !” said Mrs de Lacey, in a 
sort of professional horror. “ These things had es- 
caped me ; but I see them all, now they are men- 
tioned. Such neglect is highly culpable ; more es- 
pecially to rely on bobstays and gammonings for the 
security of a bowsprit ! Really, Mrs Wyllys, I can 
never consent that my niece should embark in such 
a vessel.” 

The calm, penetrating eye of Wyllys had been 
riveted on the countenance of Wilder while he was 
speaking, and she now turned it, with undisturbed 
serenity, on the Admiral’s widow, to reply. 

“ Perhaps the danger has been a little magnified,” 
she observed. “ Let us inquire of this other seaman 
what he thinks on these several points. — And do you 
see all these serious dangers to be apprehended, 
friend, in trusting ourselves, at this Season of the 
year, in a passage to the Carolinas, aboard of yonder 
ship ?” 

“ Lord, Madam !” said the gray-headed mariner, 
with a chuckling laugh, “ these are new-fashioned 
faults and difficulties, if they be faults and difficul- 
ties at all ! In my time, such matters were never 
heard of ; and I confess I am so stupid as not to un- 


THE RED ROVER. 


133 


derstand the half the young gentleman has been 
saying.” 

‘‘ It is some time, I fancy, old man, since you were 
last at sea,” Wilder coolly observed. 

“ Some five or six years since the last time, and 
fifty since the first,” was the answer. 

“ Then you do not see the same causes for ap- 
prehension ?” Mrs Wyllys once more demanded. 

“ Old and worn out as I am. Lady, if her Captain 
will give me a birth aboard her, I will thank him 
for the same as a favour.” 

“ Misery seeks any relief,” said Mrs de Lacey, in 
an under tone, and bestowing on her companions a 
significant glance. “ I incline to the opinion of the 
younger seaman ; for he supports it with substantial, 
professional reasons.” 

Mrs Wyllys suspended her questions, just as long 
as complaisance to the last speaker seemed to re- 
quire ; and then she resumed them as follows, ad- 
dressing her next inquiry to Wilder. 

And how do you explain this difference in judg- 
ment, between two men who ought both to be so 
well qualified to decide right?” 

“ I believe there is a well-known proverb which 
will answer that question,” returned the young man, 
smiling: “But some allowance must be made for the 
improvements in ships; and, perhaps, some little 
deference to the stations we have respectively filled 
on board them.” 

“ Both very true. Still, one would think the 
changes of half a dozen years cannot be so very 
considerable, in a profession that is so exceedingly 
ancient.” 

“ Your pardon. Madam. They require constant 
practice to know them. Now, 1 dare say that yonder 
worthy old tar is ignorant of the manner in which a 
ship, when pressed by her canvds, is made to ‘ cut 
the waves with her taff'rail.’ ” 

VoL. I. M 


134 


THE RED ROVER. 


“Impossible !” cried the Admiral’s widow ; “the 
youngest and the meanest mariner must have been 
struck with the beauty of such a spectacle.” 

“ Yes, yes,” returned the old tar, who wore the 
air of an offended man, and who, probably, had he 
been ignorant of any part of his art, was not just 
then in the temper to confess it ; “ many is the proud 
ship that I have seen doing the very same ; and, as 
the lady says, a grand and comely sight it is !” 

Wilder appeared confounded. He bit his lip, like 
one who was over-reached either by excessive igno- 
rance or exceeding cunning; but the self-compla- 
cency of Mrs de Lacey spared him the necessity of 
an immediate reply. 

“ It would have been an extraordinary circum- 
stance, truly,” she said, “ that a man should have 
grown white-headed on the seas, and never have 
been struck with so noble a spectacle. But then, 
my honest tar, you appear to be wrong in overlook- 
ing the striking faults in yonder ship, which this, a — • 
a — this gentleman has just, and so properly, named.” 

“ I do not call them faults, your Ladyship. Such 
is the way my late brave and excellent Commander 
always had his own ship rigged ; and I am bold to 
say that a better seaman, or a more honest man, 
never served in his Majesty’s fleet.” 

“ And you have served the King ! How was your 
beloved Commander named?” 

“ How should he be ! By us, who knew him well, 
he was called Fair-weather; for it was always 
smooth water, and prosperous times, under his or- 
ders ; though, on shore, he was known as the gallant 
and victorious Rear-Admiral de Lacey.” 

“ And did my late revered and skilful husband 
cause his ships to be rigged in this manner?” said 
the widow, with a tremour in her voice, that bespoke 
how much, and how truly, she was overcome by sur- 
prise and gratified pride, 


THE RED ROVER. 


135 


The aged tar lifted his bending frame from the 
stone, and bowed low, as he answered, — 

“ If I have the honour of seeing my Admiral’s 
Lady, it will prove a joyful sight to my old eyes. 
Sixteen years did I serve in his own ship, and five 
more in the same squadron. I dare say your Lady- 
ship may have heard him speak of the captain of his 
main-top. Boh Bunt.” 

“ I dare say — 1 dare say — He loved to talk of 
those who served him faithfully.” 

“ Ay, God bless him, and make his memory glori- 
ous ! He was a kind officer, and one that never for- 
got a friend, let it be that his duty kept him on a 
yard or in the cabin. He was the sailor’s friend, 
that very same Admiral !” 

“ This is a grateful man,” said Mrs de Lacey, 
wiping her eyes, “ and I dare say a competent judge 
of a vessel. And are you quite sure, worthy friend, 
that my late revered husband had all his ships ar- 
ranged like the one of which we have been talking?” 

“Very sure. Madam; for, with my own hands, 
did I assist to rig them.” 

“ Even to the bobstays ?” 

“ And the gammonings, my Lady. Were the Ad- 
miral alive, and here, he would call yon ‘ a safe and 
well-fitted ship,’ as I am ready to swear.” 

Mrs de Lacey turned, with an air of great dignity 
and entire decision, to Wilder, as she continued, — 

“ I have, then, made a small mistake in memory 
which is not surprising, when one recollects, that he 
who taught me so much of the profession is no long- 
er here to continue his lessons. We are much oblig- 
ed to you, sir, for your opinion; but we must think 
that you have over-rated the danger.” 

On my honour. Madam,” interrupted Wilder, 
laying his hand on his heart, and speaking with sin- 
gular emphasis, “ I am sincere in what I say. I do 
affirm, that I believe there will be great danger in 


136 


THE RED ROVER. 


embarking in yonder ship ; and I call Heaven to wit- 
ness, that, in so saying, I am actuated by no malice 
to her Commander, her owners, nor any connected 
with her.” 

“ We dare say, sir, you are very sincere : We only 
think you a little in error,” returned the Admiral’s 
widow, with a commiserating, and what she intend- 
ed for a condescending, smile. “ We are your debtors 
for your good intentions, at least. Come, worthy 
veteran, we must not part here. You will gain ad- 
mission by knocking at my door ; and we shall talk 
further of these matters.” 

Then, bowing to Wilder, she led the way up the 
garden, followed by all her companions. The step 
of Mrs de Lacey was proud, like the tread of one 
conscious of all her advantages; while that of 
Wyllys was slow, as if she were buried in thought. 
Gertrude kept close to the side of the latter, with 
her face hid beneath the shade of a gipsy hat. Wil- 
der fancied that he could discover the stolen and anx- 
ious glance that she threw back towards one who 
had excited a decided emotion in her sensitive bo- 
som, though it was a feeling no more attractive than 
alann. He lingered until they were lost amid the 
shrubbery. Then, turning to pour out his disap- 
pointment on his brother tar, he found that the old 
man had made such good use of his time, as to be 
entering the gate, most probably felicitating himself 
on the prospect of reaping the reward of his recent 
adulation. 


THE RED ROVER. 


137 


CHAPTER IX. 


“ He ran this way, and leap’d this orchard wall.” — Shakspeare. 


Wilder retired from the field like a defeated man. 
Accident, or, as he was willing to term it, the syco- 
phancy of the old mariner, had counteracted his 
own little artifice; and he was now left without the 
remotest chance of being again favoured with such 
another opportunity of elFecting his purpose. We 
shall not, at this period of the narrative, enter into 
a detail of the feelings arid policy which induced 
our adventurer to plot against the apparent interests 
of those with whom he had so recently associated 
himself; it is enough, for our present object, that 
the facts themselves should be distinctly set before 
the reader. 

The return of the disappointed young sailor, to- 
wards the town, was moody and slow. More than 
once he stopped short in the descent, and fastened 
his eyes, for minutes together, on the different ves- 
sels in the harbour. But, in these frequent halts; no 
evidence of the particular interest he took in any 
one of the ships escaped him. Perhaps his gaze at 
the Southern trader was longer, and more earnest, 
than at any other ; though his eye, at times, wander- 
ed curiously, and even anxiously, over every craft 
that lay within the shelter of the haven. 

The customary hour for exertion had now arrived, 
and the sounds of labour were beginning to be heard, 
issuing from every quarter of the place. The songs 
of the mariners were rising on the calm of the morn- 
ing, with their peculiar, long-drawn intonations. 
The .ship in the inner harbour was among the first to 
furnish this proof of the industry of her people, and 
of her approaching departure. It was only as these 
M 2 


138 


THE hed rover. 


movements caught his eye, that Wilder seemed to be 
thoroughly awakened from his abstraction, and to 
pursue his observations with an undivided mind. 
He saw the seamen ascend the rigging, in that lazy 
manner which is so strongly contrasted by their ac- 
tivity in moments of need ; and here and there a 
human form was showing itself on the black and 
ponderous yards. In a few moments, the fore-top- 
sail fell, from its compact compass on the yard, into 
graceful and careless festoons. This, the attentive 
Wilder well knew, was, among all trading vessels, 
the signal of sailing. In a few more minutes, the 
lower angles of this important sail were drawn to 
the extremities of the corresponding spar beneath ; 
and then the heavy yard was seen slowly ascending 
the mast, dragging after it the opening folds of the 
sail, until the latter was tightened at all its edges, 
and displayed itself in one broad, snow-white sheet 
of canvas. Against this wide surface the light cur- 
rents of air fell, and as often receded ; the sail bel- 
lying and collapsing in a manner to show that, as 
yet, they were powerless. At this point the prep- 
arations appeared suspended, as if the mariners, 
having thus invited the breeze, were awaiting to see 
if their invocation was likely to be attended with 
success. 

It was perhaps but a natural transition for him, 
who so closely observed these indications of depart- 
ure, in the ship so often named, to turn his eyes on the 
vessel which lay without the fort, in order to witness 
the effect so manifest a signal had produced in her, 
also. But the closest and the keenest scrutiny could 
have detected no sign of any bond of interest be- 
tween the two. While the former was making the 
movements just described, the latter lay at her an- 
chors, without the smallest proof that man existed 
within the mass of her black and inanimate hull. So 
quiet and motionless did she seem, that one, who had 


THE RED ROVER. 


139 


never been instructed in the matter, might readily 
have believed her a fixture in the sea, some symme- 
trical and enormous excrescence thrown up by the 
waves, with its mazes of lines and pointed fingers, 
or one of those fantastic monsters that are believed 
to exist in the bottom of the ocean, darkened by the 
fogs and tempests of ages. But, to the understand- 
ing eye of Wilder, she exhibited a very different 
spectacle. He easily saw, through all this apparently 
drowsy quietude, those signs of readiness which a 
seaman only might discover. The cable, instead of 
stretching in a long declining line towards the wa- 
ter, was “ short,” or nearly “ up and down,” as it 
is equally termed in technical language, just “scope” 
enough being allowed out-board to resist the power 
of the lively tide, which acted on the deep keel of 
the vessel. All her boats were in the water, and so 
disposed and prepared, as to convince him they were 
in a state to be employed in towing, in the shortest 
possible time. Not a sail, nor a yard, was out of its 
place, undergoing those repairs and examinations 
which the mariner is wont to make so often, when 
lying withm the security of a suitable haven ; nor 
was there a single rope wanting, amid the hundreds 
which interlaced the blue sky that formed the back- 
ground of the picture, that might be necessary, in 
bringing every art of facilitating motion into instant 
use. In short, the vessel, while seeming least pre- 
pared, was most in a condition to move, or, if neces- 
sary, to resort to her means of offence and defence. 
The boarding-nettings, it is true, were triced to the 
rigging, as on' the previous day; but a sufficient apol- 
ogy was to be found for this act of extreme caution, 
in the war, which exposed her to attacks from the 
light French cruisers, that so often ranged, from the 
islands of the West-Indies, along the whole coast of 
the Continent, and in the position the ship had taken, 
without the ordinary defences of the harbour. In 


140 


THE RED ROVER. 


this state, the vessel, , to one wlio knew her real char- 
acter, appeared like some beast of prey, or venomous 
reptile, that lay in an assumed lethargy, to delude 
the unconscious victim within the limits of its leap, 
or nigh enough to receive the deadly blow of its 
fangs. 

Wilder shook his head, in a manner which said 
plainly enough how well he understood this treach- 
erous tranquillity, and continued his walk towards the 
town, with the same deliberate step as before. He 
had whiled away many minutes unconsciously, and 
would probably have lost the reckoning of as many 
more, had not his attention been suddenly diverted 
by a slight touch on the shoulder. Starting at this 
unexpected diversion, he turned, and saw, that, in his 
dilatory progress, he had been overtaken by the sea- 
man whom he had last seen in that very society in 
which he would have given so much to have been 
included himself. 

“ Your young limbs should carry you ahead. Mas- 
ter,” said the latter, when he had succeeded in at- 
tracting the attention of Wilder, “ like a ’Mudian 
going with a clean full, and yet I have fore-reached 
upon you witli my old legs, in such a manner as to 
bring us again within hail.” 

“ Perhaps you enjoy the extraordinary advantage 
of ‘cutting the waves with your taffrail,’ ” returned 
Wilder, with a sneer. “ There can be no account- 
ing for the head-way one makes, when sailing in that 
remarkable manner.” 

“ I see, brother, you are offended that I follow- 
ed your motions, though, in so doing, I did no more 
than obey a signal of your own setting. Did you 
expect an old sea-dog like me, who has stood his 
watch so long in a flag-ship, to confess ignorance in 
any matter that of right belongs to blue water? How 
the devil was I to know that there is not some 
sort of craft, among the thousands that are getting 


THE RED ROVER. 


141 


into fashion, which sails best stern foremost ? They 
say a ship is modelled from a fish ; and, if such be 
the case, it is only to make one after the fashion of 
a crab, or an oyster, to have the very thing you 
named.” 

“ It is well, old man. You have had your re 
ward, I suppose, in a handsome present from the 
Admiral’s widow, and you may now lie-by for a 
season, without caring much as to the manner in 
which they build their ships in future. Pray, do 
you intend to shape your course much further down 
this hill ?” 

“ Until 1 get to the bottom.” 

“ I am glad of it, friend, for it is my especial in- 
tention to go up it again. As we say at sea, when 
our conversation is ended, ‘ A good time to you !’ ” 

The old seaman laughed, in his chuckling manner, 
when he saw the young man turn abruptly on his 
heel, and begin to retrace the very ground along 
which he had just before descended. 

“ Ah ! you have never sailed with a Rear-Admi- 
ral,” liQ said, as he continued his own course in the 
former direction, picking his way with a care suited 
to his age and infirmities. “ No, there is no getting 
the finish, even at sea, without a cruise or two un- 
der a flag, and that at the mizzen, too !” 

“ Intolerable old hypocrite !” muttered Wilder be- 
tween his teeth. “ The rascal has seen better 
days, and is now perverting his knowledge to juggle 
a foolish woman, to his profit. I am well quit of the 
knave, who, I dare say, has adopted lying for his 
trade, now labour is unproductive. I will go back. 
The coast is quite clear, and who can say what may 
happen next ?” 

Most of the foregoing paragraph was actually ut- 
tered in the suppressed manner already described, 
while the rest was merely meditated, which, consid- 
ering the fact that our adventurer had no auditor. 


142 


TriE RED rover. 


was quite as well as if he had spoken it through a 
trumpet. The expectation thus vaguely expressed, 
however, was not likely to be soon realized. Wilder 
sauntered up the hill, endeavouring to assume the 
unconcerned air of an idler, if by chance his return 
should excite attention ; but, though he lingered 
long in open view of the windows of Mrs de Lacey’s 
villa, he was not able to catch another glimpse of 
its tenants. There were very evident symptoms of 
the approaching journey, in the trunks and packages 
that left the building for the town, and in the hur- 
ried and busy manner of the few servants that he 
occasionally saw ; but it would seem that the prin- 
cipal personages of the establishment had withdrawn 
into the secret recesses of the building, probably for 
the very natural purpose of confidential communion 
and affectionate leave-taking. He was turning, 
vexed and disappointed, from his anxious and fruit- 
less watch, when he once more heard female voices 
on the inner side of the low wall against which he 
had been leaning. The sounds approached ; nor 
was it long before his quick, ears again recognized 
the musical voice of Gertrude. 

“ It is tormenting ourselves, without sufficient 
reason, my dear Madam,” she said, as the speakers 
drew sufficiently nigh to be distinctly overheard, ‘‘ to 
allow any thing that may have fallen from such a — 
such an individual, to make the slightest impres- 
sion.” 

“ I feel the justice of what you say, my love,” 
returned the mournful voice of her governess, “ and 
yet am I so weak as fo be unable entirely to shake 
off a sort of superstitious feeling on this subject. 
Gertrude, would you not wish to see that youth 
again ?” 

“ Me, Ma’am !” exclaimed her eleve, in a sort of 
alarm. “ Why should you, or I, wish to see an 
utter stranger again? and one so low — not low 


THE RED ROVER. 


143 


perhaps — but one who is surely not altogether a 
very suitable companion for” — 

“ Well-born ladies, you would say. And why do 
you imagine the young man to be so much our in- 
ferior ?” 

Wilder thought there was a melody in the intona- 
tions of the youthful voice of the maiden, which in 
some measure excused the personality, as she an- 
swered. 

“ I am certainly not so fastidious in my notions of 
birth and station as aunt de Lacey,” she said, 
laughing ; “ but I should forget some of your own 
instructions, dear Mrs Wyllys, did I not feel that 
education and manners make a sensible difference 
in the opinions and characters of all us poor mortals.” 

“ Very true, my child. But I confess I saw or 
heard nothing that induces me to believe the young 
man, of whom we are speaking, either uneducated 
or vulgar. On the contrary, his language and pro- 
nunciation were those of a gentleman, and his air 
was quite suited to his utterance. He had the frank 
and simple manner of his profession ; but you are 
not now to learn that youths of the first families in 
the provinces, or even in the kingdom, are often 
placed in the service of the marine.” 

“ But they are officers, dear Madam : this— this 
individual wore the dress of a common mariner.” 

“ Not altogether. It was finer in its quality, and 
more tasteful in its fashion, than is customary. I 
have known Admirals do the same in their moments 
of relaxation. Sailors of condition often love to 
carry about them the testimonials of their profession, 
without any of the trappings of their rank.” 

“ You then think he was an officer — -perhaps in 
the King’s service?” 

“ He might well have been so, though the fact, 
that there is no cruiser in the port, would seem to 
contradict it. But it was not so trifling a circum 


144 


THE RED ROVER. 


stance that awakened the unaccountable interest 
that I feel. Gertrude, my love, it was my fortune 
to have been much with seamen in early life. 1 sel- 
dom see one of that age, and of that spirited and 
manly mien, without feeling emotion. But 1 tire 
you ; let us talk of other things.” 

“ Not in the least, dear Madam,” Gertrude hur- 
riedly interrupted. “ Since you think the stranger 
a gentleman, there can be no harm — that is, it is not 
quite so improper, I believe — to speak of him. Can 
there then be the danger he would make us think in 
trusting ourselves in a ship of which we have so 
good a report ?” 

“ There was a strange, I had almost said wild, 
admixture of irony and concern in his manner, that 
is inexplicable ! He certainly uttered nonsense part 
of the time; but, then, he did not appear to do it 
without a serious object. Gertrude, you are not as 
familiar with nautical expressions as myself; and 
perhaps you are ignorant that your good aunt, in her 
admiration of a profession that she has certainly a 
right to love, sometimes makes ” 

“ I know it — I know it ; at least I often think so,” 
the other interrupted, in a manner which plainly 
manifested that she found no pleasure in dwelling on 
the disagreeable subject. “ It was exceedingly pre- 
>sumihg. Madam, in a stranger, however, to amuse 
himself, if he did it, with so amiable and so trivial a 
weakness, if indeed weakness it be.” 

“ It was,” Mrs Wyllys steadily continued — she 
having, very evidently, such other matter in her 
thoughts as to be a little inattentive to the sensitive 
feelings of her companion ; — “ and yet he did not 
appear to me like one of those empty minds that find 
a pleasure in exposing the follies of others. You 
may remember, Gertrude, that yesterday, while at 
the ruin, Mrs de Lacey made some remarks expres- 
sive of her admiration of a ship under sail.” 


THE RED ROVER. 145 

“ Yes, yes, I remember them,” said the niece, a 
little impatiently. 

“ One of her terms was particularly incorrect, as 
I happened to know from my own familiarity with 
the language of sailors.” 

“ I thought as much, by the expression of your 
eye,” returned Gertrude ; “ but” 

“ Listen, my love. It certainly was not remarka- 
ble that a lady should make a trifling error in the 
use of so peculiar a language, but it is singular that 
a seaman himself should commit the same fault in 
precisely the same words. This did the youth of 
whom we are speaking; and, what is no less sur- 
prisinfj, the old man assented to the same, just as if 
they had been correctly uttered.” 

“ Perhaps,” said Gertrude, in a low tone, “ they 
may have heard, that attachment to this description 
of conversation is a foible of Mrs de Lacey. I am 
sure, after this, dear Madam, you cannot any longer 
consider the stranger a gentleman!” 

“ I should think no more about it, love, were it 
not for a feeling I can neither account for nor define. 
I would I could again see him !” 

A slight exclamation from her companion inter- 
rupted her words; and, the next instant, the subject 
of her thoughts leaped the wall, apparently in quest 
of the rattan that had fallen at the feet of Gertrude, 
and occasioned her alarm. After apologizing for his 
intrusion on the private grounds of Mrs de Lacey, 
and recovering his lost property. Wilder was slowly 
preparing to retire, as if nothing had happened. 
There was a softness and delicacy in his manner, 
during the first moment of his appearance, which 
was probably intended to convince the younger of 
the ladies that he was not entirely without some 
claims to the title she had so recently denied him, 
and which was certainly not without its effect. The 
countenance of Mrs Wyllys was pale, and her lip 
VoL. I. N 


146 


THE RED ROVER. 


quivered, though the steadiness of her voice proved 
it was not with alarm, as she hastily said, — 

“ Remain a moment, sir, if need does not require 
your presence elsewhere. There is something so 
remarkable in this meeting, that I could wish to 
improve it.” 

Wilder bowed, and again faced the ladies, whom 
he had just been about to quit, like one who felt 
he had no right to intrude a moment longer than had 
been necessary to recover that which had been lost 
by his pretended awkwardness. When Mrs Wyllys 
found that her wish was so unexpectedly realized, 
she hesitated as to the manner in which she should 
next proceed. 

“ I have been thus bold, sir,” she said, in some 
embarrassment, on account af the opinion you so 
lately expressed concerning the vessel which now 
lies ready to put to sea, the instant she is favoured 
with a wind.” 

“ ‘ The Royal Caroline V ” Wilder carelessly 
replied. 

“ That is her name, I believe.” 

“ I hope. Madam, that nothing which I have said,” 
he hastily continued, “ will have an effect to preju- 
dice you against the ship. I will pledge myself that 
she is made of excellent materials, and then I have 
not the least doubt but she is very ably commanded.” 

“ And yet have you not hesitated to say, that you 
consider a passage in this very vessel more danger- 
ous than one in any other ship that will probably 
leave a port of the Provinces in many months to 
come.” 

“ 1 did,” answered Wilder, with a manner not to 
be mistaken. 

“ Will you explain your reasons for this opinion?” 

“ If T remember rightly, I gave them to the lady 
whom I had the honour to see an hour ago.” 

“ That individual, sir, is no longer here ” was the 


THE RED ROVER. 


147 


giave reply of Wyllys ; “ neither is she to trust her 
person in the vessel. This young lady and myself^ 
with our attendants, will be the only passengers.” 

“ 1 understood it so,” returned Wilder, keeping 
his thoughtful gaze riveted on the speaking counte- 
nance of the deeply interested Gertrude. 

“ And, now that there is no apprehension of any 
mistake, may I ask you to repeat the reasons why 
you think there will be danger in embarking in the 
‘ Royal Caroline V ” 

Wilder started, and even had the grace to colour, 
as he met the calm and attentive look of Mrs W^yllys’s 
searching, but placid eye. 

“ You would not have me repeat, Madam,” he 
stammered, “ what I have already said on the subject?” 

“ I would not, sir ; once will suffice for such an 
explanation ; still am I persuaded you have other 
reasons for your words.” 

“ It is exceedingly difficult for a seaman to speak 
of ships in any other than technical language, which 
must be the next thing to being unintelligible to one 
of your sex and condition. You have never been at 
sea, Madam ?” 

“ Very often, sir.” 

“ Then may I hope, possibly, to make myself 
understood. You must be conscious. Madam, that 
no small part of the safety of a ship depends on the 
very material point of keeping her right side upper- 
most : sailors call it ‘ making her stand up.’ Now, 
I need not say, I am quite sure, to a lady of your 
intelligence, that, if the ‘Caroline’ fall on her beam, 
there will be imminent hazard to all on board.” 

“ Nothing can be clearer ; but would not the 
same risk be incurred in any other vessel ?” 

“ Without doubt, if any other vessel should trip 
But I have pursued my profession for many years, 
without meeting with such a misfortune, but once. 
Then, the fastenings of the bowsprit” 


148 


THE RED ROVER. 


“ Are good as ever came from the hand of rig- 
ger,” said a voice behind them. 

The whole party turned ; and beheld, at a little 
distance, the old seaman already introduced, 
mounted on some object on the other side of the 
wall, against which he was very coolly leaning, and 
whence he overlooked the whole of the interior of 
the grounds. 

“ I have been at the water side to look at the boat, 
at the wish of Madam de Lacey, the widow of my 
late noble Commander and Admiral ; and, let other 
men think as they may, I am ready to swear that 
the ‘ Royal ('aroline’ has as well secured a bowsprit 
as any ship that carries the British flag ! Ay, nor is 
that all I will say in her favour ; she is throughout 
neatly and lightly sparred, and has no more of a 
wall-side than the walls of yonder church tumble- 
home. I am an old man, and my reckoning has got 
to the last leaf of the log-book ; therefore it is little 
interest that 1 have, or can have, in this brig or that 
schooner, but this much will I say, which is, that it 
is just as wicked, and as little likely to be forgiven, 
to speak scandal of a wholesome and stout ship, as 
it is to talk amiss of mortal Christian.” 

The old man spoke with energy, and a great show 
of honest indignation, which did not fail to make an 
impression on the ladies, at the same time that it 
brought certain ungrateful admonitions to the con- 
science of the understanding Wilder. 

“ You perceive, sir,” said Mrs Wyllys, after wait- 
ing in vain for the reply of the young seaman, “ that 
it is very possible for two men, of equal advantages, 
to disagree on a professional point. Which am I to 
believe ?” 

“ Whichever your own excellent sense should tell 
you is most likely to be correct. I repeat, and in a 
sincerity to whose truth I call Fleaven to witness, that 


THE RED ROVER. 


149 


fitv uiother or sister of mine should, with my consent, 
emhark in the ‘ Caroline.’ ” 

“ I'his is incomprehensible !” said Mrs Wyllys, 
turning to Gertrude, and speakmg only for her ear. 
‘‘ My reason tells me we have been trifled with by 
this young man; and yet are his protestations so 
earnest, and apparently so sincere, that I cannot shake 
ofl' the impression they have made. To which of the 
two, my love, do you feel most inclined to yield your 
credence 

“ You know how very ignorant I am, dear Madam, 
of all these things,” said Gertrude, dropping her eyes 
to the faded spiig she was plucking; “hut, to me, 
that old wretch has a very presuming and vicious 
look.” 

“ You then think the ^'ounger most entitled to our 
belief?” 

“ Why not ; since you, also, think he is a gentle- 
man ?” 

“ I know not that his superior situation in life en- 
titles him to greater credit. Men often obtain such 
advantages only to abuse them. — I am afraid, sir,” 
continued Mrs Wyllys, turning to the expecting 
Wilder, “ that unless you see fit to be more frank, 
we shall be compelled to refuse you our faith, and 
still persevere in our intention to profit, by the op- 
portunity of the ‘ Royal Caroline,’ to get to the 
Carolinas.” 

“ From the bottom of my heart. Madam, do I re 
gret the determination.” 

“ It may still be in your power to change it, by 
being explicit.” 

Wilder appeared to muse, and once or twice his 
lips moved, as if he were about to speak. Mrs 
Wyllys and Gertrude awaited his intentions with 
intense interest; but, after a long and seemingly 
hesitating pause, he disappointed both, by saying, — 
N -2 


150 


THE RED. ROVER. 


“ I am sorry that I have not the ability to make 
myself better understood. It can only be the fault 
of my dullness ; for I again affirm that the danger is 
as apparent to my eyes as the sun at noon day.” 

“ Then we must continue blind, sir,” returned 
Mrs Wyllys, with a cold salute. “ 1 thank you for 
your good and kind intentions, but you cannot blame 
us for not consenting to follow advice which is buri- 
ed in so much obscurity. Although in our own 
grounds, we shall be pardoned the rudeness of leav- 
ing you. The hour appointed for our departure has 
now arrived.” 

Wilder returned the grave bow of Mrs Wyllys 
witli one quite as formal as her own ; though he 
bent with greater grace, and with more cordiality, 
to the deep but hui-ried curtesy of Gertrude Gray- 
son. He remained in the precise spot, however, in 
which they left him, until he saw them enter the 
villa; and he even fancied he could catch the anxious 
expression of another timid glance which the latter 
threw in his direction, as her light form appeared to 
float from before his sight. Placing one hand on the 
wall, the young sailor then leaped into the highway. 
As his feet struck the ground, the slight shock seemed 
to awake him from his abstraction, and he became 
conscious that he stood within six feet of the old 
mariner, who had now twice stepped so rudely be- 
tween him and the object he had so much at heart. 
The latter did not allow him time to give utterance 
to his disappointment ; for he was the first himself 
to speak. 

“ Come, brother,” he said, in friendly, confidential 
tones, and shaking his head, like one who wished to 
show to his companion that he was aware of the 
deception he had attempted to practise ; “ come, 
brother, you have stood far enough on this tack, and 
it is time to try another. Ay, I’ve been young my- 
self in my time, and I know what a hard matter it 


THE RED ROVER. 


151 


is to give the devil a wide birth, when there is fun 
to be found in sailing in his company: But old age 
brings us to our reckonings ; and, when the life is 
getting on short allowance wrth a poor fellow, he 
begins to think of being sparing of his tricks, just 
as water is saved in a ship, when the calms set in, 
after it has been spilt about decks like rain, for weeks 
and months on end. Thought comes with gray hairs, 
and no one is the worse for providing a little of it 
among his other small stores.” 

“ I had hoped, when I gave you the bottom of the 
hill, and took the top myself,” returned Wilder, 
without even deigning to look at his disagreeable 
companion, “ that we had parted company for ever. 
As you seem, however, to prefer the high ground, I 
leave you to enjoy it at your leisure; I shall descend 
into the town.” 

The old man shuffled after him, with a gait that 
rendered it difficult for Wilder, who was by this time 
in a fast walk, to outstrip him, without resorting to 
the undignified expedient of an actual flight. Vexed 
alike with himself and his tormentor, he was tempt- 
ed to offer some violence to the latter ; and then, 
recalled to his reccollection by the dangerous im- 
pulse, he moderated his pace, and continued his 
route, with a calm determination to be superior to 
any emotions that such a pitiful object could excite. 

“ You were going under such a press of sail, 
young Master,” said the stubborn old mariner, who 
still kept a pace or two in his rear, “ that I had to set 
every thing to hold way with you ; but you now seem 
to be getting reasonable, and we may as well lighten 
the passage by a little profitable talk. You had nearly 
made the oldish lady believe the good ship ‘ Royal 
Caroline’ was the flying Dutchman !” 

“And why did you see fit to undeceive her?” 
bluntly demanded Wilder. 

“ Would you have a man, who has followed blue 


152 


THE RED ROVER. 


water fifty years, scandalize wood and iron after so 
wild a manner ? The character of a ship is as dear 
to an old sea-dog, as the character of his wife or his 
sweetheart.” 

Hark ye, friend ; you livc^ I suppose, like other 
people, by eating and drinking ?” 

A little of the first, and a good deal of the last,” 
returned the other, with a chuckle. 

And you get both, like most seaman, by hard 
work, great risk, and the severest exposure?” 

“ Flum ! ‘ Making our money like horses, and 
spending it like asses !’ — that is said to be the way 
with us all.” 

‘‘ Now, then, have you ^n opportunity of making 
some with less labour ; you may spend it to suit your 
own fancy. Will you engage in my service for a few 
hours, with this for your bounty, and as much more 
for wages, provided you deal honestly ?” 

The old man strekhed out a hand, and took the 
guiiiea which Wilder had showed over his shoulder, 
without appearing to deem it at all necessary to face 
his recruit. 

“ It’s no sham !” said the latter, stopping to ring 
the metal on a stone. 

‘‘ ’Tis gold, as pure as ever came from the Mint.” 

The other very coolly pocketed the coin ; and 
then, with a certain hardened and decided way, as 
if he were now ready for any thing, he demanded, — 

“ What hen-roost am 1 to rob for this ?” 

“ You are to do no such pitiful act ; you have only 
to perform a little of that which, I fancy, you are no 
stranger to : Can you keep a false log ?” 

“ Ay ; and swear to it, on occasion. I understand 
you. You are tired of twisting the truth like a new 
laid rope, and you wish to turn the job over to me.” 

“ Something so. You must unsay all you have 
said concerning yonder ship ; and, as you have had 
cunning enough to get on the weather-side of Mrs 


THE RED ROVER. 


15 .^ 

de Lacey, you must improve your advantage, by 
making matters a little worse than I have represent- 
ed them to be. Tell me, that I may judge of your 
qualifications, did you, in truth, ever sail with the 
worthy Rear-Admiral ?” 

“ As I am an honest and religious Christian, I 
never heard of the honest old man before yesterday. 
Oh ! you may trust me in these matters ! I am not 
likely to spoil a history for want of facts.” 

“ I think you will do. Now listen to my plan.” 

“ Stop, worthy messmate,” interrupted the other : 
“ ‘ Stones can hear,’ they say on shore : we sailors 
know that the pumps have ears on board a ship : 
have you ever seen such a place as the ‘ Foul An- 
chor’ tavern, in this town ?” 

“ I have been there.” 

“ I hope you like it well enough to go again. Here 
we will part. You shall haul on the wind, being the 
lightest sailer, and make a stretch or two among 
these houses, until you are well to windward of yon- 
der church. You will then have plain sailing down 
upon hearty Joe Joram’s, where is to be found as 
snug an anchorage, for an honest trader, as at any 
inn in the Colonies. I will keep away down this 
hill, and, considering the difference in our rate of 
sailing, we shall not be long after one another in 
port.” 

“ And what is to be gained by so much manoeuv- 
ering? Can you listen to nothing which is not steep- 
ed in rum?” 

“ You offend me by the word. You shall see what 
it is to send a sober messenger on your errands, when 
the time comes. But, suppose we are seen speaking 
to each other on the highway — why, as you are in 
such low repute just now, I shall lose my character 
with the ladies altogether.” 

“ There may be reason in that. Hasten, then, to 


154 


THE HED ROVER* 


meet me ; for, as they spoke of embarking soon, 
there is not a minute to lose*” 

“ No fear of their breaking ground so suddenly,” 
returned the old man, holding the palm of his hand 
above his head to catch the wind. “ There is not 
yet air enough to cool the burning cheeks of that 
young beauty ; and, depend on it, the signal will not 
be given to them until the sea breeze is fairly come 
in.” 

Wilder waved his hand, and stepped lightly along 
the road the other had indicated to him, ruminating 
on the figure which the fresh and youthful charms 
of Gertrude had extorted from one even as old and 
as coarse as his new ally. His companion followed 
his person for a moment, with an amused look, and 
an ironical cast of the eye ; and then he also quick- 
ened his pace, in order to reach the place of ren- 
dezvous in sufficient season. 


CHAPTER X. 

“ Forewarn him, that he use no scurrilous words.” 

Winter's Tale. 


As Wilder approached the “Foul Anchor,” he 
beheld every symptom of some powerful excitement 
existing within the bosom of the hitherto peaceful 
town. More than half the women, and perhaps one 
fourth of all the men, within a reasonable proximity 
to that well known inn, were assembled before its 
door, listening to one of the former sex, who de- 
claimed, in tones so shrill and penetrating, as not to 
leave the proprietors of the curious and attentive 
countenances, in the outer circle of the crowd, the 
smallest rational ground of complaint on the score 
of impartiality. Our adventurer hesitated, with the 


THE RED ROVER. 


155 


sudden consciousness of one but newly embarked 
in such enterprises as that in which he had so re- 
cently enlisted, when he first saw these signs of 
commotion ; nor did he determine to proceed until 
he caught a glimpse of his aged confederate, elbow- 
ing his way through the mass of bodies, with a per- 
severance and energy that promised to bring him 
right speedily into the very presence of her who ut- 
tered such loud and piercing plaints. Encouraged 
by this example, the young man advanced, but was 
content to take his position, for a moment, in a situ- 
ation that left him entire command of his limbs, 
and, consequently, in a condition to make a timely 
retreat, should the latter measure prove at all expe- 
dient. 

“ I call on you. Earthly Potter, and you, Preserv- 
ed Green, and you. Faithful Wanton,” cried Desire, 
as he came within hearing, pausing to catch a mor- 
sel of breath, before she proceeded in her affecting 
appeal to the neighbourhood ; “ and you too. Up- 
right Crook, and you too. Relent Flint, and you, 
Wealthy Poor, to be witnesses and testimonials in 
my behalf. You, and all and each of you, can qual- 
ify, if need should be, that I have ever been a slaving 
and loving consort of this man who has deserted me 
in my age, leaving so many of his own children on 
my hands, to feed and to rear, besides” — 

What certainty is it,” interrupted the landlord 
of the “ Foul Anchor ” most inopportunely, “ that 
the good-man has absconded ? It was a merry day, 
the one that is just gone, and it is quite in reason to 
believe your husband was, like some others I can 
name — a thing I shall not be so unwise as to do-^ 
a little of what 1 call how-come-ye-so, and that 
his nap holds on longer than common. Pll en- 
gage we shall all see the honest tailor creeping out 
of some of the barns shoi tly, as fresh and as ready 
for his bitters as if he had not wet his throat with 


156 


THE RED ROVER. 


cold water since the last time of general rejoic- 
ing.” 

A low but pretty general laugh followed this effort 
of tavern wit, though it failed in exciting even a 
smile on the disturbed visage of Desire, which, by 
its doleful outline, appeared to have taken leave of 
all its risible properties for ever. 

“ Not he, not he,” exclaimed the disconsolate 
consort of the good-man ; “ he has not the heart to 
get himself courageous, in loyal drinking, on such an 
occasion as a merry-making on account of his Majes- 
ty’s glory ; he was a man altogether for work ; and 
it is chiefly for his hard labour that I have reason to 
complain. After being so long used to rely on his 
toil, it is a sore cross to a dependant woman to be 
thrown suddenly and altogether on herself for sup- 
port. But I’ll be revenged on him, if there’s law to 
be found in Rhode Island, or in the Providence 
Plantations ! Let him dare to keep his pitiful 
image out of my sight the lawful time, and then, 
when he returns, he shall find himself, as many a 
vagabond has been before him, without wife, as he 
will be without house to lay his graceless head in.”^ 
Then, catching a glimpse of the inquiring face of the 
old seaman, who by this time had worked his way 
to her very side, she abruptly added, “ Here is a 
stranger in the place, and one who has lately arrived ! 
Did you meet a straggling runaway, friend, in your 
journey hither ?” 

“ I had too much trouble in navigating my old 
hulk on dry land, to log the namq and rate of every 

* It would seem, from this declaration, that certain legal 
antiquarians, who have contended that the community is in- 
debted to Desire for the unceremonious manner of clipping 
the nuptial knot, which is so well known to exist, even to this 
hour, in the community of which she was a member, are en- 
tirely in the wrong. It evidently did not take its rise in her 
example, since she clearly alludes to it, as a means before 
resorted to by the injured innocents of her own sex. 


THE RED ROVER. 


157 


craft I fell in wilii,” returned the other, with infinite 
composure ; “ and yet, now you speak of such a 
thing, I do remember to have come within hail of a 
poor fellow, just about the beginning of the morning- 
watch, somewhere hereaway, up in the bushes 
between this town and the bit of a ferry that carries 
one on to the main.” 

‘‘ What sort of a man was he ?” demanded five or 
six anxious voices, in a breath ; among which the 
tones of Desire, however, maintained their suprem- 
acy, rising above those of all the others, like the 
strains of a first-rate artist flourishing a quaver above 
the more modest thrills of the rest of the troupe. 

“ What sort of a man ! Why a fellow with his 
arms rigged athwart ship, and his legs stepped like 
those of all other Christians, to be sure : but, now 
you speak of it, I remember that he had a bit of a 
sheep-shank in one of his legs, and rolled a good 
deal as he went ahead.” 

“ It was he !” added the same chorus of voices. 
Five or six of the speakers instantly stole slyly out 
of the throng, with the commendable intention of 
hurrying after the delinquent, in order to secure the 
payment of certain small balances of account, in 
which the unhappy and much traduced good-man 
stood indebted to the several parties. Had we leisure 
to record the manner in which these praiseworthy 
efforts, to save an honest penny, were conducted, 
the reader might find much subject of amusement in 
the secret diligence with which each worthy trades- 
man endeavoured to outwit his neighbour, on the 
occasion, as well as in the cunning subterfuges which 
were adopted to veil their real designs, when all met 
at the ferry, deceived and disappointed in their ob- 
ject. As Desire, hov/ever, had neither legal demand 
on, nor hope of favour from, her truant husband, she 
was content to pursue, on the spot, such further in- 
quiries in behalf of the fugitive as she saw fit to make. 

V^OL. I. O 


158 


THE RED ROVER. 


It is possible the pleasures of freedom, in the shape 
of the contemplated divorce, were already floating 
before her active mind, with the soothing perspec- 
tive of second nuptials, backed by the influence of 
such another picture as might be drawn from the 
recollections of her first love ; the whole having a 
manifest tendency to pacify her awakened spirit, and 
to give a certain portion of directness and energy to 
her subsequent interrogatories. 

“ Had he a thieving look ?” she demanded, with- 
out attending to the manner in which she was so 
suddenly deserted by all those who had just express- 
ed the strongest sympathy in her loss. “ Was he a 
man that had the air of a sneaking runaway ?” 

As for his head-piece, I will not engage to give 
a very true account,” returned the old mariner ; 
“ though he had the look of one who had been kept, 
a good deal of his time, in the lee scuppers. If I 
should give an opinion, the poor devil has had too 
much” — 

‘‘ Idle time, you would say ; yes, yes ; it has been 
nis misfortune to be out of work a good deal latter- 
ly, and wickedness has got into his head, for want of 
something better to think of. Too much” — 

Wife,” interrupted the old man, emphatically. 
Another general, and far less equivocal laugh, at the 
expense of Desire, succeeded this blunt declaration. 
Nothing intimidated by such a manifest assent to the 
opinion of the hardy seaman, the undaunted virago 
resumed, — 

“ Ah ! you little know the suffering and forbear- 
ance I have endured with the man in so many long 
years. Had the fellow you met the look of one who 
had left an injured woman behind him ?” 

“ I can’t say there was any thing about him which 
said, in so many words, that the woman he had left 
at her moorings was more or less injured returned 
the tar, with commendable discrimination, “ but there 


THE RED ROVER. 


169 


was enough about him to show, that, however and 
wherever he may have stowed his wife, if wife she 
was, he had not seen fit to leave all her outfit at 
home. The man had plenty of female toggery around 
his neck ; I suppose he found it more agreeable than 
her arms.” 

“ What !” exclaimed Desire, looking aghast; “ has 
he dared to rob me ! What had he of mine ? not the 
gold beads !” 

“ ril not swear they were no sham.” 

“ The villain !” continued the enraged termagant, 
catching her breath like a person that had just been 
submerged in water longer than is agreeable to hu- 
man nature, and forcing her way through the crowd, 
with such vigour as soon to be in a situation to fly to 
her secret hordes, in order to ascertain the extent of 
her misfortune ; “ the sacrilegious villain ! to rob the 
wife of his bosom, the mother of his own children, 
and” 

“ Well, well,” again interrupted the landlord of 
the ‘ Foul Anchor,’ with his unseasonable voice, “ I 
never before heard the good-man suspected of rogue- 
ry, though the neighbourhood was ever backward in 
calling him chicken-hearted.” 

The old seaman looked the publican full in the 
face, with much meaning in his eyu, as he answer- 
ed,— 

“ If the honest tailor never robbed any but that 
virago, there would be no great thieving sin to be 
laid to his account ; for every bead he had about 
him wouldn’t serve to pay his ferryage. I could 
carry all the gold on his neck in my eye, and see 
none the worse for its company. But it is a shame 
to stop the entrance into a licensed tavern, with such 
a mob, as if it were, an* embargoed port; and so I 
have sent the woman after her valuables, and all the 
idlers, as you see, in her wake.” 


160 


THE RED ROVER. 


Joe Joram gazed on the speaker like a man en- 
thralled by some mysterious charm ; neither answer- 
ing, nor altering the direction of his eye, for near a 
minute. Then, suddenly breaking out in a deep and 
powerful laugh, as if he were not backward in en- 
joying the artifice, which certainly had produced the 
effect of removing the crowd from his own door to 
that of the absent tailor, he fiourished his arm in the 
way of greeting, and exclaimed, — 

“ W elcome, tarry Boh ; welcome, old hoy, wel- 
come ! F rom what cloud have you fallen ? and be- 
fore what wind have you been running, that New- 
pori is again your harbour?” 

“ Too many questions to be answered in an open 
roadstead^ friend Joram ; and altogether too dry a 
subject for a husky conversation. When I am birth- 
ed in one of your inner cabins^ with a mug of flip 
and a kid of good Rhode Island beef within grap- 
pling distance, why, as many questions as you choose, 
and as many answers, you know, as suits my ap- 
petite.” 

“ And who’s to pay the piper, honest Bob ? whose 
ship’s purser will pay your check now?” continued 
the publican, showing the old sailor in, however, 
with a readiness that seemed to contradict the doubt, 
expressed by his words, of any reward for such ex- 
traordinary civility. 

“Who?” interrupted the other, displaying the 
money so lately received from Wilder, in such a 
manner that it might be seen by the few by-standers 
who remained, as though he would himself furnish 
a sufficient apology for the distinguished manner in 
which he was received ; “ who but this gentleman ? 
I can boast of being backed by the countenance of 
his Sacred Majesty himself, God bless him !” 

“ God bless him !” echoed several of the loyal 
lieges ; and that too in a place which has since 


161 


THE RED ROVER. 

heard such very diiferent cries, and where the same 
words would now excite nearly as much surprise, 
though far less alarm, than an earthquake. 

“God bless him!” repeated Joram, opening the 
door of an inner room, and pointing the way to his 
customer, “and all that are favored with his coun- 
tenance! Walk in, old Bob, and you shall soon grap 
pie with half an ox.” 

Wilder, who had approached the outer door of 
tlie tavern as the mob receded, witnessed the retreat 
of the two w^orthies into the recesses of the house, 
and immediately entered the bar-room himself 
While deliberating on the manner in which he should 
arrive at a communication with his new confederate, 
without attracting too much attention to so odd an 
association, the landlord returned in person to re- 
lieve him. After casting a hasty glance around the 
apartment, his look settled on our adventurer, whom 
he approached in a manner half-doubting, half- 
decided. 

“ What success, sir, in looking for a ship ?” he de- 
manded, now recognizing, for the first time, the 
stranger with whom' he had before held converse 
that morning. “More hands than places to employ 
(hem ?” 

“lam not sure it will so prove. In my walk on 
the hill, I met an old seaman, who” — 

“ Hum !” interrupted the publican, with an intel- 
ligible, though stolen, sign to follow. “You will 
find it more convenient, sir, to take your breakfast 
in another room.” Wilder followed his conductor, 
who left the public apartment by a different door 
from that by which he had led his other guest into 
the interior of the house, w'ondering at the air of 
mystery that the innkeeper saw fit to assume on th.e 
occasion. After leading him by a circuitous passage, 
the latter showed Wilder, in profound silence, up 
a private stair- way, into the very attic of the build- 


162 


THE RED ROVER. 


ing. Here he rapped lightly at a door, and was bid 
to enter, by a voice that caused our adventurer to 
start by its deepness and severity. On finding him- 
self, however, in a low and confined room, he saw 
no other occupant than the seaman who had just 
been greeted by the publican as an old acquaintance, 
and by a name to which he might, by his attire, well 
lay claim to be entitled — that of tarry Bob. Wliile 
Wilder was staring about him, a good deal surprised 
at the situation in which he was placed, the land- 
lord retired, and he found himself alone with his 
confederate. The latter was already engai^ed in 
discussing the fragment of the ox, just mentioned, 
and in quaffing of some liquid that seemed equally 
adapted to his taste, although sufficient time had not 
certainly been allowed to prepare the beverage he 
had seen fit to order. Without allowing his visiter 
leisure for much further reflection, the old mariner 
made a motion to him to take the only vacant chair 
in the room, while he continued his employment on 
the surloin with as much assiduity as though no in- 
terruption had taken place. 

“ Honest Joe Joram always makes a friend of his 
butcher,” he said, after ending a draught that threat- 
ened to drain the mug to the bottom. “ There is 
such a flavour about his beef, that one might mistake 
it for the fin of a halibut. You have been in foreign 
parts, shipmate, or I may call you ‘ messmate,’ since 
we are both anchored nigh the same kid — but you 
have doubtless been in foreign countries ?” 

“ Often ; 1 should else be but a miserable sea- 
man.” 

“ Then, tell me frankly, have you ever been in 
the kingdom that can furnish such rations— fish, 
flesh, fowl, and fruits — as this very noble land of 
America, in which we are now both moored ? and 
in which I suppose we both of us were born ?” 

“It would be carrying the love of home a little 


THE RED ROVER. 


163 


too far, to believe in such universal superiority,” 
returned Wilder, willing to divert the conversation 
from his real object, until he had time to arrange his 
ideas, and assure himself he had «o other auditor but 
his visible companion. “ It is generally admitted 
that England excels us in all these articles.” 

“ By whom ? by your know-nothings and bold 
talkers. But I, a man who has seen the four quarter 
of the earth, and no small part of the water besides, 
give the lie to such empty boasters. We are colonies, 
friend, we are colonies ; and it is as bold in a colony 
to tell the mother that it has the advantage, in this or 
that particular, as it would be in a foremast Jack to 
tell his officer he was wrong, though he knew it to 
be true. I am but a poor man, Mr — By what name 
may I call your Honour ?” 

“ Me ! my name ? — Harris.” 

“ I am but a poor man, Mr Harris ; but I have had 
charge of a watch in my time, old and rusty as I 
seem, uor have I spent so many long nights on deck 
without keeping thoughts at work, though I may not 
have overhauPd as much philosophy, in so doing, as 
a paid parish priest, or a fee’d lawyer. Let me tell 
you, it is a disheartening thuig to be nothing but a 
dweller in a colony. It keeps down the pride and 
spirit of a man, and lends a hand in making him what 
his masters would be glad to have him. I shall say 
nothing of fruits, and meats, and other eatables, that 
come from the land of which both you and 1 have 
heard and know too much, unless it be to point to 
yonder sun, and then to ask the question, whether 
you think King George has the power to make it 
shine on the"" bit of an island where he lives, as it 
shines here in his broad provinces of America ?” 

“ Certainly not : and yet you Icnow that every one 
allows that the productions of England arc so much 
superior” — • 

‘‘Ay, ay; a colony always sails under the lee of 


164 


THE RED ROVER. 


its mother. Talk does it all, friend Harris. Talk, 
talk, talk ; a man can talk himself into a fever, or 
set a ship’s company by the ears. He can talk a 
cherry into a peach, or a flounder into a whale. Now 
here is the whole of this long coast of America, and 
all her rivers, and lakes, and brooks, swarming 
with such treasures as any man might fatten on, and 
yet his Majesty’s servants, who come among us, talk 
of their turbots, and their sole, and their carp, as if 
the Lord had only made such fish, and the devil had 
let the others slip through his fingers, without asking 
leave.” 

Wilder turned, and fastened a look of surprise on 
the old man, who continued to eat, however, as if he 
had uttered nothing but what might be considered 
as a matter of course opinion. 

“ You are more attached to your birth-place than 
loyal, friend,” said the young mariner, a little aus- 
terely. 

“ I am not fish-loyal at least. What the Lord 
made, one may speak of, I hope, without offence. As 
to the Government, that is a rope twisted by the 
hands of man, and” — 

And what ?’ demanded Wilder, perceiving that 
file other hesitated. 

“ Hum ! Why, I fancy man will undo liis own 
work, when he can find nothing better to busy him- 
self in. No harm in saying that either, I hope ?” 

“ So much, that I must call your attention to the 
business that has brought.us together. You have not 
so soon forgotten the earnest-money you received ?” 

The old sailor shoved the dish from before him, 
and, folding his arms, he looked his companion full 
in the eye, as he calmly answered, — 

“ When I am fairly enlisted in a service, I am a 
man to be counted on. I hope ygu sail under the 
same colors, friend Harris 

“It would be dishonest to be otherwise. There 

r 


THE RED ROVER. 


165 


is one thing you will excuse^ before I proceed to de- 
tail my plans and wishes : 1 must take occasion to 
examine this closet, in order to be sure that we are 
actually alone.” 

“ You will find little there except the toggery of 
some of honest Joe’s female gender. As the door 
is. not fastened with any extraordinary care, you have 
only to look for yourself, since seeing is believing.” 

Wilder did not seem disposed to wait for this per- 
mission ; he opened the door, even while the other 
was speaking, and, finding that the closet actually 
contained little else than the articles named by his 
companion, he turned away, like a man who was 
disappointed. 

Were you alone when 1 entered?” be demanded, 
after a thoughtful pause of a moment. 

“ Honest Joram, and yourself.” 

“ But no one else?” 

“None that I saw,” returned the other, with a 
manner that betrayed a slight uneasiness ; “ if you 
think otherwise, let us overhaul the room. Should 
my hand fall on a listener, the salute will not be 
light.” 

“ Hold— answer me one question ; who bade me 
enter?” 

Tarry Bob, who had arisen with a good deal of 
alacrity, now reflected in his turn for an instant, and 
then he closed his musing, by indulging in a low 
laugh. 

“ Ah ! I see that you have got your ideas a little 
jammed. A man cannot talk the same, with a small 
portion of ox in his mouth, as though his tongue had 
as much sea-room as a ship four-and-twenty hours 
out.” 

“ Then, you spoke ?” 

“ I’ll swear to that much,” returned Bob, resum- 
ing his seat like one who had settled the whole af- 
fair to his entire satisfaction ; “ and now, friend Har- 


166 


TriE REiD llOVEft. 


ris, if you are ready to lay bare your mind, I’m just 
as ready to look at it.” 

Wilder did not appear to be quite as well content 
with the explanation as his companion, hut he drew 
a chair, and prepared to open his subject. 

‘‘ I am not to tell you^ friend, after what you have 
heard and seen, that I have no very strong desire 
that the lady with whom we have both spoken this 
morning, and her companion, should sail in the 
‘ Royal Caroline.’ I suppose it is enough for our 
purposes that you should know the fact ; the reason 
why I prefer they should remain where they are, can 
he of no moment as to the duty you are to under- 
take,” 

“ You need not tell an old seaman how to gather 
in the slack of a running idea !” cried Bob, chuck- 
ling and winking at his companion in a way that dis- 
pleased the latter by its familiarity ; “ I have not 
lived fifty years on bluer water, to mistake it for the 
skies.” 

“ You then fancy, sir, that my motive is no secret 
to you ?” 

“It needs no spy-glass to see, that, while the old 
people say, ‘ Go,’ the young people would like to 
stay where they are.” 

“ You do both of the young people much injus- 
tice, then ; for, until yesterday, I never laid eyes on 
the person you mean.” 

“ Ah ! I see how it is ; the owners of the ‘ Caro- 
line’ have not been so civil as they ought, and you 
are paying them a small debt of thanks !” 

“ That is possibly a means of retaliation that might 
suit your taste,” said Wilder, gravely ; “ but which 
is not much in accordance with mine. The whole 
of the parties are utter strangers to me.” 

“ Hum ! Then I suppose you beiong to the ves- 
sel in the outer harbour ; and, though you don’t hale 
your enemies, you love your friends We must con 


THE RED ROVER. 


167 


ti re the means to coax the ladies to take passage 
in the slaver.” 

God forbid !” 

“ God forbid ! Now I think, friend Harris, you set 
up the backstays of your conscience a little too 
taught. Though I cannot, and do not, agree with 
you in all you have said concerning the ‘ Royal Car- 
oline,’ I see no reason to doubt but we shall have 
but one mind about the other vessel. I call her a 
wholesome looking and well proportioned craft, and 
one that a King might sail in with comfort.” 

“ I deny it not ; still I like her not.” 

“ Well, I am glad of that ; and, since the matter 
is fairly before us, master Harris, I have a word or 
two to say concerning that very ship. I am an old 
sea-dog, and one not easily blinded in matters of the 
trade. Do you not find something, that is not in 
character for an honest trader, in the manner in which 
they have laid that vessel at her anchors, without the 
fort, and the sleepy look she bears, at the same time 
that any one may see she is not built to catch oysters, 
or to carry cattle to the islands ?” 

As you have said, I think her a wholesome and 
a tight-built ship. Of what.evil practice, however, 
do you suspect her? — perhaps she robs the revenue?” 

Hum ! I am. not sure it would be pleasant to 
smuggle in such a vessel, though your contraband is 
a merry trade, after all. She has a pretty battery, as 
well as one can see from this distance.” 

“ I dare say her owners are not tired of her yet, 
and would gladly keep her from falling into the hands 
of the French.” 

Well, well, I may be wrong ; but, unless sight 
is going with my years, all is not as it would be on 
board that slaver, provided her papers were true, 
and she had the lawful name to her letters of marque. 
What think you, honest Joe, in this matter?” 

Wilder turned, impatiently, and found that the 


168 


THE RED ROVER. 


landlord had entered the room, with a step so ligiit 
as to have escaped his attention, which had been 
drawn to his companion with a force that the reader 
will readily comprehend. The air of surprise, with 
which Joram regarded the speaker, was certainly 
not affected ; for the question was repeated, and in 
still more definite terms, before he saw fit to reply. 

“ I ask you, honest Joe, if you think the slaver, in 
the outer harbour of this port, a true man ?” 

“ You come across one. Bob, in your bold way, 
with such startling questions,” returned the publican, 
casting his eyes obliquely around him, as if he would 
fain make sure of the character of the audience to 
which he spoke, “ such stirring opinions, that really 
I am often non-plushed to know how to get the ideas 
together, to make a saying answer.” 

“ It is droll enough, truly, to see the landlord of 
the ‘ Foul Anchor’ dumb-foundered,” returned the 
old man, with perfect composure in mien and eye. 
“ 1 ask you, if you do not suspect something wrong 
about that slaver ?” 

“ Wrong ! Good heavens, mister Robert, recollect 
what you are saying. I would not, for the custom 
of his Majesty’s Lord High Admiral, have any dis- 
couraging words be uttered in my bouse against the 
reputation of any virtuous and fair-dealing slavers ! 
The Lord protect me from blacking the character of 
any honest subject of the King !” 

“ Do you see nothing wrong, worthy and tender 
. Joram, about the ship in the outer harbour?” re- 
peated mister Robert, without moving eye, limb, or 
muscle. 

“ Well, since you press me so hard for an opinion, 
and seeing that you are a customer who pays freely 
for what he orders, 1 will say, that, if there is any 
thing unreasonable, or even illegal, in the deportment 
of the gentlemen” 

‘‘ You sail so nigh the wind, friend Joram,” coolly 


THE RED ROVER. 


169 


interrupted the old man, “ as to keep every thing 
shaking. Just bethink you of a plain answer : Have 
you seen any thing wrong about the slaver ?” 

“ Nothing, on my conscience, then,” said the pub 
lican, puffing not unlike a cetaceous fish that had 
come to the surface to breathe ; “ as I am an un- 
worthy sinner, sitting under the preaching of good 
and faithful Dr Dogma, nothing — nothing,” 

“ No ! Then are you a duller man than I had rated 
you at ! Do you suspect nothing ?” 

“ Heaven protect me from suspicions ! The devil 
besets all our minds with doubts ; but weak, and evil 
inclined, is he who submits to them. The officers 
and crew of that ship are free drinkers, and as gen- 
erous as princes : Moreover, as they never forget to 
clear the score before they leave the house, I call 
them — honest !” 

“ And I call them — ^}3irates !” 

Pirates !” echoed Joram, fastening his eye, with 
marked distrust, on the countenance of the attentive 
Wilder. “ ‘ Pirate’ is a harsh word, mister Robert, 
and should not be thrown in any gentleman’s face, 
without testimony enough to clear one in an action 
of defamation, should such a thing get fairly before 
twelve sworn and conscientious men. But I sup- 
pose you know what you say, and before whom you 
say it.” 

1 do; and now, as it seems that your opinion in 
this matter amounts to just nothing at all, you will 

3 do any thing you order,” cried Joram, very 
evidently delighted to change the subject. 

‘‘ To go and ask the customers below if they are 
dry,” continued the other, beckoning for the publi- 
can to retire by the way he entered, with the air of 
one who felt certain of being obeyed. As soon as 
the door was closed on the retiring landlord, he turn- 
ed to his remaining companion, and continued, “You 
VoL, I. P 



170 


THE RED RDVER. 


seem as much struck aback as unbelieving Joe him- 
self, at what you have just heard.” 

“ It is a harsh suspicion, and should be well sup- 
ported, old man, before you venture to repeat it. 
What pirate has lately been heard of on this coast?” 

“ There is the well-known Red Rover,” returned 
the other, dropping his voice, and casting a furtive 
look around him, as if even he thought extraordi- 
nary caution was necessary in uttering the formid- 
able name. 

“ But he is said to keep chiefly in the Caribbeaix 
Sea.” 

“ He is a man to be any where, and every where. 
The King would pay him well who put the rogue 
into the hands of the law.” 

. “ A thing easier planned than executed,” Wilder 
thoughtfully answered. 

“ That is as it may be. I am an old fellow, and 
fitter to point out the way than to go ahead. But 
you are like a newly fitted ship, with all your rigging 
tight, and your spars without a warp in them. What 
say you to make your fortune by selling the knaves 
to the King ? It is only giving the devil his own a few 
months sooner or later.” 

Wilder started, and turned away from his compan- 
ion like one who was little pleased by the manner in 
which he expressed himself. Perceiving the neces- 
sity of a reply, however, he demanded, — 

‘‘ And what reason have you for believing your 
suspicions true ? or what means have you for efect- 
ing your object, if true, in the absence of the royal 
cruisers ?” 

“ I cannot swear that I am right; but, if sailing on 
the wrong tack, we can only go about, when we find 
out the mistake. As to means, I confess they are 
easier named than mustered.” 

“ Go, go ; this is idle talk ; a mere whim of your 
old brain,” said Wilder, coldly; “and the less said 


TttE RED ROVER. 


171 


the soonest mended. All this time we are forgetting 
our proper business. I am half inclined to think, 
mister Robert, you are holding out false lights, in or- 
der to get rid of the duty for which you are already 
half paid.” 

There was a look of satisfaction in the counte- 
nance of the old tar, while Wilder was speaking, that 
might have struck his companion, had not the young 
man risen, while speaking, to pace the narrow room, 
with a thoughtful and hurried step. 

“ Well, well,” the former rejoined, endeavouring 
to disguise his evident contentment, in his customa- 
ry, selfish, but shrewd expression, “ I am an old 
dreamer, and often have I thought myself swimming 
in the sea when I have been safe moored on dry 
land ! I believe there must soon be a reckoning with 
the devil, in order that each may take his share of 
my poor carcass, and I be left the Captain of my 
own ship. Now for your Honour’s orders.” 

Wilder returned to his seat, and disposed himself 
to give the necessary instructions to his confederate, 
in order that he might counteract all he had already 
said in favour of the outward-bound vessel. 


CHAPTER XL 

•“ The man is, notwithstanding, sufficient ; — three thousan 

ducats ; — I think I may take his bond .” — Merchant of Venice. 

As the day advanced, the appearances of a fresh 
sea breeze setting in gradually grew stronger ; and, 
with the increase of the wind, were to be seen all 
the symptoms of an intention to leave the harbour 
on the part of the Bristol trader. The sailing of a 
large ship was an event of much more importance 
in an American port, sixty years ago, than at the 


172 


tliE RED ROVER. 


present hour, when a score is frequently seen to af- 
rive and depart from one haven in a single day. Al- 
though claiming to be inhabitants of one of the prin- 
cipal towns of the colony, the good people of New- 
port did not witness the movements on board the 
“Caroline” with that species of indolent regard 
which is the fruit of satiety in sights as well as in 
graver things, and with which, in the course of time, 
the evolutions of even a fleet come to be contempla- 
ted. On the contrary, the wharves were crowded 
with boys, and indeed with idlers of every growth. 
Even many of the more considerate and industrious 
of the citizens were seen loosening the close grasp 
they usually kept on the precious minutes, and al- 
lowing them to escape uncounted, though not en- 
tirely unheeded, as they yielded to the ascendency 
of curiosity over interest, and strayed from their 
shops, and their work-yards, to gaze upon the noble 
spectacle of a moving ship. 

The tardy manner in which the crew of the 
“ Caroline” made their preparations, however, ex- 
hausted the patience of more than one time-saving 
citizen. Quite as many of the better sort of the 
spectators had left the wharves as still remained, 
and yet the vessel spread to the breeze but the soli- 
tary sheet of canvas which has been already named. 
Instead of answering the wishes of hundreds of 
weary eyes, the noble ship was seen sheering about 
her anchor, inclining from the passing wind, as her 
bows were alternately turned to the right and to the 
left, like a restless courser restrained by the grasp of 
the groom, chafing his bit, and with difficulty keep- 
ing those limbs upon the earth with which he is 
shortly to bound around the ring. After more than 
an hour of unaccountable delay, a rumour was spread 
among the crowd that an accident had occurred, by 
which some important individual, belonging to the 
complement of the vessel, was severely injured. 


the red rover. 


173 


But this rumour passed away also, and was nearly 
forgotten, when a sheet of flame was seen issuing 
from a bow-port of the “ Caroline,” driving before 
it a cloud of curling and mounting smoke, and which 
was succeeded by the instant roar of a discharge of 
artillery. A bustle, like that which usually precedes 
the immediate announcement of any long attended 
event, took place among the weary expectants on 
the land, and every one now felt certain, that, what- 
ever might have occurred, it was settled that the ship 
should proceed. 

Of all this delay, the several movements on board, 
the subsequent signal of sailing, and of the impa- 
tience in the crowd. Wilder had been a grave and 
close observer. Posted with his back against the 
upright fluke of a condemned anchor, on a wharf a 
little apart from that occupied by most of the other 
spectators, he had remained an hour in the same po- 
sition, scarcely bending his look to his right hand or 
to his left. When the gun was fired he started, not 
with the nervous impulse which had made a hundred 
others do precisely the same thing, but to turn an 
anxious and rapid glance along the streets that came 
within, the range of his eye. From this hasty and 
uneasy examination, he soon returned into his former 
reclining posture, though the w'andering of his glan- 
ces, and the whole expression of his meaning coun- 
tenance, would have told an observer that some 
event, to which the young mariner looked forward 
with excessive interest, was on the eve of its con 
summation. As minute after minute, however, roll- 
ed by, his composure was gradually restored, and a 
smile of satisfaction lighted his features, while his 
lips moved like those of a man who expressed his 
pleasure in a soliloquy. It was in the midst of these 
agreeable meditations, that the sound of many voices 
met his ears ; and, turning, he saw a large party 
within a few yards of where he stood. He was nof 


174 


THE RED ROVER. 


slow to detect among them the forms of Mrs Wyllys 
and Gertrude, attired in such a manner as to leave 
no doubt that they were at length on the eve of 
embarking. 

A cloud, driving before the sun, does not produce 
a greater change in the aspect of the earth, than 
was wrought in the expression of Wilder’s counte- 
nance, by this unexpected sight. He was just im- 
plicitly relying on the success of an artifice, which, 
though sufficiently shallow, he flattered himself was 
deep enough to act on the timidity and credulity of 
woman ; and, now, was he suddenly awoke from his 
self-gratulation, to prove the utter disappointment of 
his hopes. Muttering a suppressed but deep execra- 
tion against the perfidy of his confederate, he shrunk 
as much as possible behind the fluke of the anchor, 
and fastened his eyes sullenly on the ship. 

Tlie party which accompanied the travellers to 
the water side was, like all other parties made to 
take leave of valued friends, taciturn and restless. 
Those who spoke, did so with a rapid and impatient 
utterance, as though they wished to hurry the very 
separation they regretted; and the features of those 
who said nothing looked full of meaning. Wilder 
heard several affectionate and warm-hearted wishes 
given, and promises extorted, from youthful voices, 
all of which were answered in the soft and mournful 
tones of Gertrude, and yet he obstinately refused to 
bend even a stolen look in the direction of the 
speakers. 

At length, a footstep, within a few feet of him, in- 
duced a hasty glance aside. His eye met that of 
Mrs Wyllys. The lady started, as well as our young 
mariner, at the sudden recognition ; but, recovering 
her self-possession, she observed, with admirable 
coolness,— 

“ You perceive, sir, that \vc are not to be deter- 


THE RED ROVER. 


175 


red from an enterprise once undertaken, by any 
ordinary dangers.” 

1 hope you may not have reason, Madam, to re- 
pent your courage.” 

A short, but painfully thoughtful pause succeeded, 
on th« part of Mrs Wyllys. Casting a look behind 
her, in order to ascertain that she was not overheard, 
she drew a step nigher to the youth, and said, in a 
voice even lower than before, — 

“ It is not yet too late : Give me but the shadow 
of a reason for what you have said, and I will wait 
for another ship» My feelings are foolishly inclined 
to believe you, young man, though my judgment 
tells me there is but too much probability that you 
trifle with our womanish fears.” 

“ Trifle ! On such a matter I would trifle with 
none of your sex ; and least of all with you !” 

“ This is extraordinary ! For a stranger it is inex- 
plicable ! Have you a fact, or a reason, which I can 
plead to the friends of my young charge ?” 

You know them already.” 

“ Then, sir, am I compelled, against my will, to 
believe your motive is one that you have some pow- 
erful considerations for wishing to conceal,” coolly 
returned the disappointed and even mortified govern- 
ess. “ For your own sake, I hope it is not unwor- 
thy. I thank you for all that is well intended ; if you 
have spoken aught which is otherwise, I forgive it.” 

They parted, with the restraint of people who 
feel that distrust exists between them. Wilder again 
shrunk behind his cover, maintaining a proud posi- 
tion, and a countenance that was grave to austerity. 
His situation, however, compelled him to become 
an auditor of most of what was now said. 

The principal speaker, as was meet on such an oc- 
casion, was Mrs de Lacey, whose voice was often 
raised in sage admonitions and professional opinions, 
blended in a manner that all would admire, though 


176 


THE RED ROVER. 


none of her sex, but they who had enjoyed tlie sin- 
gular good fortune of sharing in the intimate confi- 
dence of a flag-officer, might ever hope to imitate. 

“ And now, my dearest niece,” concluded the 
relict of the Rear-Admiral, after exhausting her 
breath, and her store of wisdom, in numberless ex- 
hortations to be careful of her health, to write often, 
to repeat the actual words of her private message 
to her brother the General, to keep below in gales 
of wind, to be particular in the account of any ex- 
traordinary sight she might have the good fortune 
to behold in the passage, and, in short, in all other 
matters likely to grow out of such a leave-taking ; 
‘‘and now, my dearest niece, 1 commit you to the 
mighty deep, and One far mightier — to Him who 
made it. Banish from your thoughts all recollections 
of any thing you may have heard concerning the 
imperfections of the ‘ Royal Caroline for the opin- 
ion of the aged seaman, who sailed with the lament- 
ed Admiral, assures me they are all founded in mis- 
take.” [“ The treacherous villain !” muttered Wil- 
der.] “ Who spoke ?” said Mrs de Lacey ; but, re- 
ceiving no reply, she continued ; “ His opinion is 
also exactly in accordance with my own, on more 
mature reflection. To be sure, it is a culpable ne- 
glect to depend on bobstays and gammonings for the 
security of the bow-sprit, but still even this is an 
oversight which, as my old friend has just told me, 
may be remedied by ‘ preventers and lashings.’ I 
have written a note to the Master, — Gertrude, my 
dear, be careful ever to call the Master of the ship 
Mister Nichols ; for none, but such as bear his Ma- 
jesty’s commission, are entitled to be termed Cap- 
tains^ it is an honourable station, and should always 
be treated with reverence, it being, in fact, next in 
rank to a flag-officer, — I have written a note to the 
Master on the subject, and he will see the neglect 
repaired ; and so, my love, God bless you ; take the 


I'HE RED ROVER. 


177 


best possible care of yourself ; write me by every 
opportunity ; remember my kindest love to your fa- 
ther, and be very minute in your description of the 
whales.” 

The eyes of the worthy and kind-hearted widow 
were filled with tears as she ended ; and there was a 
touch of nature, in the tremour of her voice, that 
produced a sympathetic feeling in all who heard her 
words. The final parting took place under the im- 
pression of these kind emotions ; and, before another 
minute, the oars of the boat, which bore the travel- 
lers to the ship, were heard in the water. 

Wilder listened to the well-known sounds with a 
feverish interest, that he possibly might have found 
it difficult to explain even to himself. A light touch 
on the elbow first drew his attention from the disa- 
greeable subject. Surprised at the circumstance, he 
faced the intruder, who appeared to be a lad of ap- 
parently some fifteen years. A second look was ne- 
cessary, to tell the abstracted young mariner that he 
again saw the attendant of the Rover ; he who has 
already been introduced in our pages under the name 
of Roderick. 

“ Your pleasure?” he demanded, when his amaze- 
ment, at being thus interrupted in his meditations^ 
had a little subsided. 

‘‘ I am directed to put these orders into your own 
hands,” was the answer. 

Orders !” repeated the young man, with a curling 
lip. “ The authority should be respected which is- 
sues its mandates through such a messenger.” 

“ The authority is one that it has ever proved 
dangerous to disobey,^’ gravely returned the boy. 

“ Indeed ! Then will I look into the contents with 
out delay, lest I fall into some fatal negligence. Are 
you bid to wait an answer ?” 

On raising his eyes from the note the other had 
given him, after breaking its seal, the young man 


178 


THE RED ROVER. 


found that the messenger had already vanished. Per- 
ceiving how useless it would be to pursue so light a 
form, amid the mazes of lumber that loaded the 
wharf, and most of the adjacent shore, he opened 
the letter and read as follows : — 

“ An accident has disabled the Master of the out- 
“ ward-bound ship called the ‘Royal Caroline!’ Her 
“ consignee is reluctant to intrust her to the officer 
“ next in rank ; but sail she must. 1 find she has 
“credit for her speed. If you have any credentials 
“ ol‘ character and competency^ profit by the occasion, 
“ and earn the station you are finally destined to fill. 
“ You have been named to some who are interested, 
“ and you have been sought diligently. If this reach 
“ you in season, be on the alert, and be decided. 
“ Show no surprise at any co-operation you may un- 
“ expectedly meet. My agents are more numerous 
“ than you had believed. The reason is obvious ; 
“ gold is yellow, though I am 

“Red.” 

The signature, the matter, and the style of this 
letter, left Wilder in no doubt as to its author. Cast- 
ing a glance around him, he sprang into a skilF; and, 
before the boat of the travellers had reached the 
ship, that of Wilder had skimmed the water over 
half the distance between her and the land. As he 
plied his skulls with vigorous and skilful arms, he 
soon stood upon her decks. Forcing his way among 
the crowd of attendants from the shore, that are apt 
to cumber a departing ship, he reached the part of 
the vessel where a circle of busy and anxious faces 
told him he should find those most concerned in her 
fate. Until now, he had hardly breathed clearly, 
much less reflected on the character of his sudden 
enterprise. It was too late, however, to retreat, had 
he Deen so disposed, or to abandon his purpose, with- 


THE RED ROVER. 


179 


out incurring the hazard of exciting dangerous sus- 
picions. A single instant served to recal his thoughts, 
ere he demanded, — 

“ Do I see the owner of the ‘ Caroline V ” 

“ The ship is consigned to our house,” returned a 
sedate, deliberate, and shrewd-looking individual, in 
the attire of a wealthy, but also of a thrifty, trader. 

“ I have heard that you have need of an experi- 
enced officer.” 

“ Experienced officers are comfortable things to 
an owner in a vessel of value,” returned the mer- 
chant. “ I hope the ‘ Caroline’ is not without her 
portion.” 

“ But I had heard, one to supply her Commander’s 
place, for a time, was greatly needed ?” 

“If her Commander were incapable of doing his 
duty, such a thing might certainly come to pass. Are 
you seeking a birth ?” 

“ I have come to apply for the vacancy.” 

“ It would have been wiser, had you first ascer- 
tained there existed a vacancy to fill. But you have 
not come to ask authority, in such a ship as this, 
without sufficient testimony of your ability and fit- 
ness ?” 

“ I hope these documents may prove satisfactory,” 
said Wilder, placing in his hands a couple of unseal- 
ed letters. 

During the time the other was reading the certifi- 
cates, for such they proved to be, his shrewd eye 
was looking over his spectacles at the subject of their 
contents, and returning to the paper, in alternate 
glances, in such a way as to render it very evident 
that he was endeavouring to assure himself of the 
fidelity of the words he read, by actual observation. 

“ Hum ! This is certainly very excellent testimony 
in your favour, young gentleman; and — coming, as it 
does, from two so respectable and affluent houses as 
Spriggs, Boggs and Tweed, and Hammer and Hacket 


180 


THE RED ROVER. 


— entitled to great credit. A richer and broader- 
bottomed firm than the former, is not to be found in 
all his Majesty’s colonies ; and I have great respect 
for the latter, though envious people do say that they 
over-trade a little.” 

“ Since, then, you esteem them so highly, I shall 
not be considered hasty in presuming on their friend- 
ship.” 

Not at all, not at all, Mr a — a” — glancing 

his eye again into one of the letters ; “ ay — Mr Wil- 
der; there is never any presumption in a fair offer, 
in a matter of business. Without offers to sell and 
offers to buy, our property would never change 
hands, sir, ha ! ha ! ha ! never change to a profit, you 
know, young gentleman,” 

1 am aware of the truth of what you say, and 
therefore I beg leave to repeat my offer.” 

“ All perfectly fair and perfectly reasonable. But 
you cannot expect us, Mr Wilder, to make a vacancy 
expressly for you to fill, though it must be admitted 
that your papers are excellent — as good as the note 
of Spriggs, Boggs and Tweed themselves— -not to 
make a vacancy expressly” — 

“ I had supposed the Master of the ship so serious- 
ly injured” — 

“ Injured, but not seriously,” interrupted the wary 
consignee, glancing his eye around at sundry ship- 
pers, and one or two spectators, who were within 
ear-shot ; “ injured certainly, but not so much as to 
quit the vessel. No, no, gentlemen ; the good ship 
^ Royal Caroline’ proceeds on her voyage, as usual, 
under the care of that old and well-tried mariner, 
Nicholas Nichols.” 

Then, sir, am I sorry to have intruded on your 
time at so busy a moment,” said Wilder, bowing 
with a disappointed air, and failing back a step, as if 
about to withdraw, 

‘‘ Not so hasty — not so hasty ; bai^ains are not to 


THE RED ROVER. 


181 


be concluded, young man, as you let a sail fall from 
the yard. It is possible that your services may be 
of use, though not perhaps in the responsible situa- 
tion of Master. At what rate do you value the title 
of ‘ Captain ?’ ” 

“ I care little for the name, provided the trust and 
the authority are mine.” 

“ A very sensible youth !” muttered the discreet 
merchant ; “ and one who knows how to distinguish 
between the shadow and the substance ! A gentle- 
man of your good sense and character must know, 
however, that the reward is always proportioned to 
the nominal dignity. If I were acting for myself, in 
this business, the case would be materially changed, 
but, as an agent, it is a duty to consult the interest 
of my principal.” 

“ The reward is of no account,” said Wilder, with 
an eagerness that might have overreached itself, had 
not the individual with whom he was bargaining 
fastened his thoughts on the me^ns of cheapening the 
other’s services, with a steadiness from which they 
rarely swerved, when bent on so commendable an 
object as saving : “ I seek for service.” 

‘‘ Then service you shall have ; nor will you find 
us niggardly in the operation. You cannot expect 
an advance, for a run of no more than a month ; nor 
any perquisites in the way of stowage, since the ship 
is now full to her hatches ; nor, indeed, any great 
j)rice in the shape of wages, since we take you chief- 
ly to accommodate so worthy a youth, and to hon- 
our the recommendations of so respectable a house 
as Spriggs, Boggs and Tweed ; but you will find us 
liberal, excessive liberal. Stay — how know we that 
you are the person named in the invoi — I should say, 
recommendation ?” 

“ Does not the fact of possessing the letters estab- 
lish my character?” 

“It might in peaceable times ; when the realm 
VoL. I. a 


182 


THE RED ROVER. 


was not scourged by war. A description of the per- 
son should have accompanied the documents, like 
a letter of advice with the hill. As we take you at 
some risk in this matter, you are not to be surprised 
that the price will be affected by the circumstance. 
We are liberal; I believe no house in the colonies 
pays more liberally; hut then we have a character 
for prudence to lose.” 

“ I have already said, sir, that the price shall not 
interrupt our bargain.” 

“ Good: There is pleasure in transacting business 
on such liberal and honourable views! And yet I 
wish a notarial seal, or a description of the person, 
had accompanied the letters. This is the signatuie 
of Robert Tweed; I know it well, and would be 
glad to see it at the bottom of a promissory note for 
ten thousand pounds ; that is, with a responsible en- 
dorser ; but the uncertainty is much against your 
pecuniary interest, young man, since we become, as 
it were, underwriters that you are the individual 
named.” 

“ In order that your mind may be at ease on this 
subject, Mr Bale,” said a voice from among the little 
circle that was listening, with characteristic interest, 
to the progress of the bargain, can testify, or, 
should it be necessary, qualify to the person of the 
gentleman.” 

Wilder turned in sonae haste, and in no little 
astonishment, to discover the acquaintance whom 
chance had thrown in so extraordinary, and possibly 
in so disagreeable a manner, across his path ; and 
that, too, in a portion of the country where he wish- 
ed to believe himself an entire stranger. To his ut- 
ter amazement, he found that the new speaker was 
no other than the landlord of the Foul Anchor.” — • 
Honest Joe stood with a perfectly composed look, 
and with a face that might readily have been trusted 
to confront a far more imposing tribunal, awaiting 


THE RED ROVER. 


183 


tlie result of his testimony on the seemingly waver- 
ing mind of the consignee^ 

“ Ah ! you have lodged the gentleman for a time, 
and you can testify that he is a punctual paymaster 
and a civil inmate. But I want documents fit to 
be filed with the correspondence of the owners at 
homej''* 

“ I know not what sort of testimony you think fit 
for such good company,” returned the unmoved pub- 
lican, holding up his hand with an air of admirable 
innocence ; “ but, if the sworn declaration of a 
housekeeper is of the sort you need, you are a ma- 
gistrate, and may begin to say over the words at 
once.” 

“ Not I, not I, man. Though a magistrate, the 
oath is informal, and would not be binding in law. 
But what do you know of the person in question?” 

“That he is as good a seaman^ for his years, as 
any in the colonies. There may be some of more 
practice and greater experience ; I dare say such are 
to be found ; but as to activity, watchfulness, and 
prudence, it would be hard to find his equal — espe- 
cially for prudence.” 

“ You then are quite certain that this person is 
the individual named in these papers?” 

Joram received the certificates with the sanve ad- 
mirable coolness he had maintained from the com- 
mencement, and prepared to read them with the 
most scrupulous care. In order to elFect this neces- 
sary operation, he had to put on his spectacles, (for 
the landlord of the “ Foul Anchor” was in the wane 
of life), and Wilder fancied that he stood, during the 
process, a notable example of how respectable de- 
pravity may become, in appearance, when supported 
by a reverend air. 

“ This is all very true, Mr Bale,” continued tlie 
publican, removing his glasses, and returning the pa- 
pers. “ They have forgotten to say any thing of the 


184 


THE RED ROVER. 


manner in which he saved the ‘ Lively Nancy,’ otf 
Hatteras, and how he run the ‘ Peggy and Dolly’ 
over the Savannah bar, without a pilot, blowing 
great guns from the northward and eastward at the 
time; but J, who followed the water, as you know, 
in my younger days, have often heard both circum- 
stances mentioned among sea-faring men, and I am a 
judge of the difficulty. I have an interest in this 
ship, neighbour Bale, (for though a rich man, and 1 
a poor one, we are nevertheless iieighboui*s) — 1 say 
1 have an interest in this ship ; since she is a vessel 
that seldom quits Newport without leaving some- 
thing to jingle in my pocket, or I should not be 
here to-day, to see her lift her anchor.” 

As the publican concluded, he gave audible evi- 
dence that his visit had not gone unrewarded, by 
raising a music that was no less agreeable to the 6ars 
of the thrifty merchant than to his own. The two 
worthies laughed in an understanding way, and like 
two men who had found a particular profit in their 
intercourse with the “ Royal Caroline.” The latter 
then beckoned Wilder apart, and, after a little fur- 
ther preliminary discourse, the terms of the young 
mariner’s engagement were finally settled. The 
true Master of the ship was to remain on board, 
both as a security for the insurance, and in order to 
preserve her reputation ; but it was frankly admitted 
that his hurt, which was no less than a broken leg, 
and which the surgeons were then setting, would 
probably keep him below for a month to come. 
During the time he was kept from his duty, his func- 
tions were to be filled, in efiect, by our adventurer. 
These arrangements occupied another hour of time, 
and then the consignee left the vessel, perfectly sat- 
isfied with the prudent and frugal manner in which 
he had discharged his duty towards his principal. 
Before stepping into the boat, however, with a view 
to be equally careful of his own interests, he took 


THE RED ROVER. 


185 


an opportunity to request the publican to make a 
proper and legal affidavit of all that he knew, ‘‘ of 
his own knowledge,” concerning the officer just en- 
gaged. Honest Joram was liberal of his promises; 
but, as he saw no motive, now that all was so hap- 
pily effected, for incurring useless risks, he contrived 
to evade their fulfilment, finding, no doubt. Ins apol- 
ogy for this breach of faith in the absolute poverty 
of his information, when the subject came to be duly 
considered, and construed literally by the terms re- 
quired. 

It is unnecessary to relate the bustle, the repara- 
tion of half-forgotten, and consequently neglected 
business, the duns, good wishes, injunctions to exe- 
cute commissions in some distant port, and all the 
confused, and seemingly interminable, duties that 
crowd themselves into the last ten minutes that pre- 
cede the sailing of a merchant vessel, more espe- 
cially if she is fortunate, or rather unfortunate 
enough to have passengers. A certain class of men 
quit a vessel, in such a situation, with the reluctance 
that they would part with any other well establish- 
ed means of profit, creeping down her sides as lazily 
as the leech, filled to repletion, rolls from his bloody 
repast. The common seaman, with an attention di- 
vided by the orders of the pilot and tlie adieus of 
acquaintances, runs in every direction but the right 
one, and, perhaps at tlie only time in his life, seems 
ignoriint of the uses of the ropes he has so long been 
accustomed to handle. Notwithstanding all these 
vexatious delays, and customary incumbrances, the 
“ Royal Caroline” finally got rid of all her visiters 
1)11 1 one, and Wilder was enabled to indulge in a 
pleasure that a seaman alone can appreciate — that 
of clear decks and an orderly ship’s company. 

Q 2 


186 


THE RED ROVER. 


CHAPTER XII. 

“Good; Speak to the mariners: Fall to’t yarely, or we run 

ourselves aground.” — Tempest. 

A GOOD deal of the day had been wasted during 
the time occupied by the scenes just related. The 
breeze had come in steady, but far from fresh. So 
soon, however, as Wilder found himself left without 
the molestation of idlers from the shore, and the busy 
interposition of the consignee, he cast his eyes about 
him, with the intention of immediately submitting 
the ship to its power. Sending for the pilot, he com- 
municated his determination, and withdrew himself 
to a part of the deck whence he might take a proper 
survey of the materials of his new command, and 
where he might reflect on the unexpected and extra- 
ordinary situation in which he found himself. 

The “ Royal Caroline” was not entirely without 
pretensions to the lofty name she bore. She was a 
vessel of that happy size in which comfort and con- 
venience had been equally consulted. The letter of 
the Rover aflirmed she had a reputation for her 
speed ; and her young and intelligent Commander 
saw, with great inward satisfaction, that she was not 
destitute of the means of enabling him to exhibit all 
her finest properties. A healthy, active, and skilful 
crew, justly proportioned spars, little top-hamper, 
and an excellent trim, with a superabundance of light 
sails, offered all the advantages his experience could 
suggest. His eye lighted, as it glanced rapidly over 
these several particulars of his command, and his 
lips moved like those of a man who uttered an in- 
ward self-gratulation , or who indulged in some vaunt, 
that propriety suggested should go no farther than his 
own thoughts. 

By this time, the crew, under the orders of the 


THE RED ROVER. 


187 


pilot, were assembled at the windlass, and had com- 
menced heaving-in upon the cable. The labour was 
of a nature to exhibit their individual powers, as well 
as their collective force, to the greatest advantage. 
Their motion was simultaneous, quick, and full of 
muscle. The cry was clear and cheerful. As if 
to feel his influence, our adventurer lifted his own 
voice, amid the song of the mariners, in one of those 
sudden and inspiriting calls with which a sea oflicer 
is wont to encourage his people. His utterance was 
deep, animated, and full of authority. The seamen 
started like mettled coursers when they first hear 
the signal, each man casting a glance behind him, as 
though he would scan the qualities of his new supe- 
rior. Wilder smiled, like one satisfied with his suc- 
cess; and, turning to pace the quarter-deck, he found 
himself once more confronted by the calm, consid- 
erate, but certainly astonished eye of Mrs Wyllys. 

“ After the opinions you were pleased to express 
of this vessel,” said the lady, in a manner of the 
coldest irony, “ 1 did not expect to find you filling a 
place of such responsibility here.” 

“ You probably knew. Madam,” returned the 
young mariner, “ that a sad accident had happened 
to her Master ?” . 

“ I did ; and I had heard that another oflicer had 
been found, temporarily, to supply his place. Still, 
I should presume, that, on reflection, you will not 
think it remarkable I am amazed in finding who this 
person is.” 

“ Perhaps, Madam, you may have conceived, from 
our conversations, an unfavourable opinion of my 
professional skill. But I hope that on this head you 
will place your mind at ease ; for” 

“ You are doubtless a master of the art ! it would 
seem, at least, that no trifling danger can deter you 
from seeking proper opportunities to display this 
knowledge. Are we to have the--pleasure of your 


188 


THE RED ROVER. 


company during the whole passage, or do you leave 
us at the mouth of the port 

“ I am engaged to conduct the ship to the end of 
her voyage.” 

‘‘We may then hope tliat the danger you either 
saw or imagined is lessened in your judgment, other- 
wise you would not be so ready to encounter it in 
our company.” 

“ You do me injustice, Madam,” returned Wilder, 
with warmth, glancing his eye unconsciously to- 
wards the grave, hut deeply attentive Gertrude, as 
he spoke ; “ there is no danger that I would not 
cheerfully encounter, to save you, or this young lady, 
from harm.” 

“Even this young lady must be sensible of 'your 
chivalry!” Then, losing the constrained manner 
with which, until now, she had maintained the dis- 
course, in one more natural, and one far more in 
consonance with her usually mild and thoughtful 
mien, Mrs Wyllys continued, “ You have a powerful 
advocate, young man, in the unaccountable interest 
which I feel in your truth; an interest that my reason 
would fain condemn. As the ship must need your 
services, 1 will no longer detain you. Opportunities 
cannot be wanting to enablc'US to judge both of your 
inclination and ability to serve us. Gertrude, my 
love, females are usually considered as incumbrances 
in a vessel; more particularly when tliere Is any del- 
icate duty to perform, like this before us.” 

Gertrude started, blushed, and proceeded, after 
her governess, to the opposite side of the quarter- 
deck, followed by an expressive look from our ad- 
venturer, which seemed to say, he considered her 
j)resence any thing else but an incumbrance. As 
the ladies immediately took a position aj)art from 
every body, and one where they were least in the 
way of working the ship, at the same time that they 
could command an entire view of all her manoeuvres, 


THE RED ROVER. 


189 


the disappointed sailor was obliged to cut short a 
communication which he would gladly have contin- 
ued until compelled to take the charge of the vessel 
from the hands of the pilot. By this time, however, 
the anchor was a- weigh, and the seamen were already 
actively engaged in the process of making sail. Wil- 
der lent himself, with feverish excitement, to the 
duty ; and, taking the words from the officer who was 
issuing the necessary orders, he assumed the immedi- 
ate superintendence in person. 

As sheet after sheet of canvas fell from the yards, 
and was distended by the complicated mechanism, 
the interest that a seaman ever takes in his vessel 
began to gain the ascendancy over all other feelings. 
By the time every thing was set, from the royals 
down, and the ship was cast with her head towards 
the harbour’s mouth, our adventurer had probably 
forgotten (for the moment only, it is true) that he was 
a stranger among those he was in so extraordinary a 
manner selected to command, and how precious a 
stake was intrusted to his firmness and decision. 
After every thing was set to advantage, alow and 
aloft, and the ship was brought close upon the wind, 
his eye scanned every yard and sail, from the truck 
to the hull, and concluded by casting a glance along 
the outer side of the vessel, in order to see that not 
even the smallest rope was in the water to impede 
her progress. A small skiff, occupied by a boy, was 
towing under the lee, and, as the mass of the vesse 
began to move, it was skipping along the surface of 
the water, light and buoyant as a feather. Perceiv- 
ing that it was a boat belonging to the shore. Wilder 
walked forward, and demanded its owner. A mate 
pointed to Joram, who at that moment ascended 
from the interior of the vessel, where he had been 
settling the balance due from a delinquent, or, what 
was in his eyes the same thing, a departing debtor. 

The sight of this man recalled Wilder to a recpl- 


190 


TrtE RED ROVERi 


lection of all that had occurred that morning, and 
of the whole delicacy of the task he had undertaken 
to perform. But the publican, whose ideas appeared 
always concentrated when occupied on the subject 
of gain, seemed troubled by no particular emotions 
at the interview. He approached the young mari- 
ner, and, saluting him by the title of “ Captain,” 
bade him a good voyage, with those customary wish- 
es which seamen express, when about to separate on 
such an occasion. 

‘‘ A lucky trip you have made of it. Captain Wil- 
der,” he concluded) “ and I hope your passage will 
be short. You’ll not be without a breeze this after- 
noon ; and, by stretching well over towards Mon- 
tauck, you’ll be able to make such an offing, on the 
other tack, as to run the coast down in the morning. 
If I am any judge of the* weather, the wind will 
have more easting in it, than you may happen to 
find to your fancy.” 

“ And how long do you think my voyage is likely 
to last ?” demanded Wilder, dropping his voice so 
low as to reach no ears but those of the publican. 

Joram cast a furtive glance aside ; and, perceiv- 
ing that they were alone^ he suffered an expression 
of hardened cunning to take possession of a counte- 
nance that ordinarily seemed set in dull, physical 
contentment, as he replied, laying a finger on his 
nose while speaking, — 

“ Didn’t I tender the consignee a beautiful oath, 
master Wilder ?” 

“ You certainly exceeded my expectations with 
your promptitude, and” 

“ Information !” added the landlord of the ‘ Foul 
Anchor,’ perceiving the other a little at a loss for a 
word ; “ yes, I have always been remarkable for the 
activity of my mind in these small matters ; but, 
when a man once knows a thing thoroughly, it is a 
great folly to spend his breath in too many words.” 


THE RED ROVER. 


191 


‘‘ It is certainly a great advantage to be so well 
instructed. I suppose you improve your knowledge 
to a good account.” 

“ Ah ! bless me, master Wilder, what would be- 
come of us all, in these difficult times, if we did not 
turn an honest penny in every way that offers? I 
have brought up several fine children in credit, and 
it sha’n’t be my fault if I don’t leave them some- 
thing too, besides my good name. Well, well*, they 
say, ‘ A nimble sixpence is as good as a lazy shilling;’ 
but give me the man who don’t stand shilly-shally 
when a friend has need of his good word, or a lift 
from his hand. You always know where to find 
such a man ; as our politicians say, after they have 
gone through thick and thin in the cause, be it right 
or be it wrong.” 

Very commendable principles ! and such as will 
surely be the means of exalting you in the world 
sooner or later ! But you forget to answer my ques- 
tion : Will the passage be long, or short ?” 

“ Heaven bless you, master Wilder ! Is it for a 
poor publican, like me, to tell the Master of this 
noble ship which way the wind will blow next? 
There is the worthy and notable Commander Nichols, 
lying in his state-room below, he could do any thing 
with the vessel ; and why am I to expect that a gen- 
tleman so well recommended as yourself will do 
less ? I expect to hear that you have made a fa- 
rnous run, and have done credit to the good word 
1 have had occasion to say in your favour.” 

Wilder execrated, in his heart, the wary cunning 
of the rogue with whom he was compelled, for the 
moment, to be in league; for he saw plainly that a 
determination not to commit himself a tittle further 
than he might conceive to be absolutely necessary, 
was likely to render Joram too circumspect, to an- 
swer his own immediate wishes. After hesitating a 
moment, in order to reflect, he continued hastily,-— 


192 


THE RED ROVER. 


“You see that the ship is gathering way too fast 
to admit of trifling. You know of the letter I re- 
ceived this morning ?” 

“ Bless me, Captain Wilder 1 Do you take me for 
a postmaster ? How should I know what letters 
arrive at Newport, and what stop on the main ?” 

“ As timid a villain as he is thorough !” muttered 
the young mariner. “ But this much you may surely 
say. Am I to be followed immediately ? or is it ex- 
pected that I should detain the ship in the offing, 
under any pretence that I can devise?” 

“ Heaven keep you, young gentleman ! These are 
strange questions, to come from one who is fresh off 
the sea, to a man that has done no more than look at 
it from the land, these five-and-twenty years. Ac- 
cording to my memory, sir, you will keep the ship 
about south until you are clear of the islands ; and 
then you must make your calculations according to 
the wind, in order not to get into the Gulf, where, 
you know, the stream will be setting you one way, 
while your orders say, ‘ Go another.’ ” 

“ Luff! mind your luff, sir!” cried the pilot, in a 
stern voice, to the man at the helm ; “ luff* you can ; 
on no account go to leeward of the slaver !” 

Both Wilder and the publican started, as if they 
found something alarming in the name of the vessel 
just alluded to ; and the former pointed to the skiff, 
as he said, — 

“ Unless you wish to go to sea with us, Mr Joram, 
it is time your boat held its master.” 

“ Ay, ay, I see you are fairly under way, and I 
must leave you, however much I like your com- 
pany,” returned the landlord of the ‘ Foul Anchor,’ 
bustling over the side, and getting into his skiff in 
the best manner he could. “ Well, boys, a good time 
to ye; a plenty of wind, and of the right sort; a 
safe passage out, and a quick return. Cast off.” 

His order was obeyed ; the light skiff, no longer 


THE RED ROVER. 


193 


impelled by the ship, immediately deviated from its 
course; and, after making a little circuit, it became 
stationary, while the mass of the vessel passed on, 
with the steadiness of an elephant from whose back 
a butterfly had just taken its flight. Wilder follow- 
ed the boat with his eyes, for a moment ; but his 
thoughts were recalled by the voice of the pilot, 
who again called, from the forward part of the 
ship, — 

‘‘ Let the light sails lift a little, boy ; let her lift ; 
keep every inch you can, or you’ll not weather the 
slaver. Luff, I say, sir ; luff*.” 

“ The slaver !” muttered our adventurer, hasten- 
ing to a part of the ship whence he could command 
a view of that important, and to him doubly interest- 
ing ship; “ay, the slaver! it may be difficult, in- 
deed, to weather upon the slaver !” 

He had unconsciously placed himself near Mrs 
Wyllys and Gertrude ; the latter of whom was lean- 
ing on the rail of the quarter-deck, regarding the 
strange vessel at anchor, with a pleasure far from 
unnatural to her years and sex. 

“You may laugh at me, and call me fickle, and 
perhaps credulous, dear Mrs Wyllys,” the unsuspect- 
ing girl cried, just as Wilder had taken the foregoing 
position, “but I wish we were well out of this 
‘ Royal Caroline,’ and that our passage was to be 
made in yonder beautiful ship I” 

“ It is 'indeed a beautiful ship I” returned Wyllys; 
“ but I know not that it would be safer, or more 
comfortable, than the one we are in.” 

“ With what symmetry and order the ropes are 
arranged I and how like a bird it floats upon the 
water !” 

“ Had you particularized the duck, the compari- 
son would have been exactly nautical,” said the 
governess, smiling mournfully ; “you show capabili- 
ties, my love, to be one day a seaman’s wife,” 

VoL. I. 


194 


THE RED ROVER. 


Gertrude blushed a little ; and, turning back her 
head to answer in the playful vein of her governess, 
her eye met the riveted look of Wilder, fastened on 
herself. The colour on her cheek deepened to a 
carnation, and she was mute ; the large gipsy hal 
she wore serving to conceal both her face and the 
confusion which so deeply suffused it. 

“You make no answer, child, as if you reflected 
seriously on the chances,” continued Mrs Wyllys, 
whose thoughtful and abstracted mien, however, 
sufficiently proved she scarcely knew what she ut- 
tered. 

“ The sea is too unstable an element for my taste,” 
Gertrude coldly answered. Pray tell me, Mrs 
Wyllys, is the vessel we are approaching a King’s 
ship ? She has a warlike, not to say a threatening 
exterior.” 

“ The pilot has twice called her a slaver.” 

“ A slaver ! How deceitful then is all her beauty 
and symmetry ! I will never trust to appearances 
again, since so lovely an object can be devoted to 
so vile a purpose.” 

“ Deceitful indeed !” exclaimed Wilder aloud, un- 
der an impulse that he found as irresistible as it was 
involuntary. “ I will take upon myself to say, that 
a more treacherous vessel does not float the ocean 
than yonder finely proportioned and admirably equip- 
ped” — 

“Slaver,” added Mrs Wyllys, who had time to 
turn, and to look all her astonishment, before the 
young man appeared disposed to finish his own sen- 
tence, 

“ Slaver ;” he said with emphasis, bowing at the 
same time, as if he would thank her for the word. 

After this interruption, a profound silence occur- 
red. Mrs Wyllys studied the disturbed features of 
the young man, for a moment, with a countenance 
that denoted a singular, though a complicated, inter- 


Til£ RED ROVER. 


195 


est ; and then she gravely bent her eyes on the water, 
deeply occupied with intense, if not painful reflec- 
tion. The light symmetrical form of Gertrude con- 
tinued leaning on the rail, it is true, but Wilder was 
unable to catch another glimpse of her averted and 
shadowed lineaments. In the mean while, events, 
that were of a character to withdraw his attention 
entirely from even so pleasing a study, were hasten- 
ing to their accomplishment. 

The ship had, by this time, passed between the 
little island and the point 'whence Homespun had 
embarked, and might now be said to have fairly left 
the inner harbour. The slaver lay directly in her 
track, and every man in the vessel was gazing with 
deep interest, in order to see whether they might yet 
hope to pass on her weather-beam. The measure 
was desirable ; because a seaman has a pride in keep- 
ing on the honourable side of every thing he encoun- 
ters, but chiefly because, from the position of the 
stranger, it would be the means of preventing the 
necessity of tacking before the “ Caroline” should 
reach a point more advantageous for such a manoeu- 
vre. The reader will, however, readily understand 
that the interest of her new Commander took its 
rise in far different feelings from those of professional 
pride, or momentary convenience. 

Wilder felt, , in every nerve, the probability that a 
crisis was at hand. It will be remembered that he 
was profoundly ignorant of the immediate intentions 
of the Rover. As the fort was not in a state for 
present service, it would not be difficult for the latter 
to seize upon his prey in open view of the towns- 
men, and bear it off, in contempt of their feeble 
means of defence. The position of the two ships 
was favourable to such an enterprise. Unprepared, 
and unsuspecting, the “Caroline,” at no time a 
match for her powerful adversary, must fall an easy 
victim ; nor would there be much reason to appre- 


196 


THE RED' ROVER. 


hend that a single shot from the battery could reach 
them, before the captor, and his prize, would be at 
such a distance as to render the blow next to impo- 
tent, if not utterly innocuous. The wild and auda- 
cious character of such an enterprise was in full ac- 
cordance with the reputation of the desperate free- 
booter, on whose caprice, alone, the act now seemed 
solely to depend. 

Under these impressions, and with the prospect 
of such a speedy termination to his new-born authori- 
ty, it is not to be considered wonderful that our ad- 
venturer awaited the result with an interest far ex- 
ceeding that of any ,of those by whom he was sur- 
rounded. He walked into the waist of the ship, 
and endeavoured to read the plan of his secret con- 
federates, by some of those indications that are fa- 
miliar to a seaman. Not the smallest sign of any 
intention to depart, or in any manner to change her 
position, was, however, discoverable in the pretend- 
. ed slaver. She lay in the same deep, beautiful, but 
treacherous quiet, as that in which she had reposed 
throughout the whole of the eventful morning. But 
a solitary individual could be seen amid the mazes 
of her rigging, or along the wide reach of all her 
spars. It was a seaman seated on the extremity of 
a lower yard, where he appeared to busy himself 
with one of those repairs that are so constantly re- 
quired in the gear of a lai^e ship. As the man was 
placed on the weather side of his own vessel. Wilder 
instantly conceived the idea that he was thus station- 
ed to cast a grapnel into the rigging of the “Caro- 
line,” should such a measure become necessary, in 
order to bring the two ships foul of each other. 
With a view to prevent so rude an encounter, he in- 
stantly determined to defeat the plan. Calling to the 
pilot, he told him the attempt to pass to windward 
was of very doubtful success, and reminded him that 
the safer way would be to go to leeward. 


THE RED ROVER. 


197 


No fear, no fear, Captain,” returned the stub- 
born conductor of the ship, who, as his authority 
was so brief, was only the more jealous of its unre- 
strained exercise, and who, like an usurper of the 
throne, felt a jealousy of the more legitimate power 
which he had temporarily dispossessed ; “ no fear of 
me. Captain. I have trolled over this ground often 
er than you have crossed the ocean, and I know the 
name of * every rock on the bottom, as well as the 
town-crier knows the streets of Newport. Let her 
luff, boy ; luff her into the very eye of the wind ; 
luff, you can” 

“You have the ship shivering as it is, sir,” said 
Wilder, sternly : “Should you get us foul of the sla- 
ver, who is to pay the cost ?” 

“ I am a general underwriter,” returned the opin- 
ionated pilot; “my wife shall mend every hole I 
make in your sails, with a needle no bigger than a 
hair, and with such a palm as a fairy’s thimble !” 

“ This is fine talking, sir, but you are already • 
losing the ship’s way ; and, before you have ended 
your boasts, she will be as fast in irons as a condemn- 
ed thief. Keep the sails full, boy; keep them a rap 
full, sir.” 

“ Ay, ay, keep her a good full,” echoed the pilot, 
who, as the difficulty of passing to windward became 
at each instant more obvious, evidently began to wa- 
ver in his resolution. “ Keep her full-and-by, 1 

have always told you full-and-by, 1 don’t know. 

Captain, seeing that the wind has hauled a little, but 
we shall have to pass to leeward yet ; but you will 
acknowledge, that, in such case., we shall be obliged 
to go about.” 

Now, in point of fact, the wind, though a little 
lighter than it had been, was, if anything, a trifle more 
favourable ; nor had Wilder ever, in any manner, 
denied that the ship would not have to tack, some 
twenty minutes sooner, by going to leeward of the 
R2 


198 


THE RED ROVER. 


other vessel, than if she had succeeded in her deli- 
cate experiment of passing on the more honourable 
side; but, as the vulgarest minds are always the 
most reluctant to confess their blunders, the discom- 
fited pilot was disposed to qualify the concession he 
found himself compelled to make, by some salvo of 
the sort, that he might not lessen his reputation for 
foresight, among his auditors. 

j “ Keep her away at once,” cried Wilder, who was 
beginning to change the tones of remonstrance for 
those of command ; ‘‘ keep the ship away, sir, while 
you have room to do it, or, by the” 

His lips became motionless ; for his eye happen- 
ed to fall on the pale, speaking, and anxious coun- 
tenance of Gertrude. 

“ I believe it must be done, seeing that the wind 
is hauling. Hard up, boy, and run her ujider the 
stern of the ship at anchor. Hold ! keej) your liilF 
again ; eat into the wind to. the bone, boy ; lift again ; 
let the light sails lift. The slaver has run a warp 
directly across our track. If there’s law in the 
Plantations, I’ll have her Captain before the Courts 
for this !” 

“What means the fellow?” demanded Wilder, 
jumping hastily on a gun, in order to get a better 
view. 

His mate pointed to the lee-quarter of the other 
\7essel, where, sure enough, a large rope was seen 
whipping the water, as though in the very process of 
being extended. The truth instantly flashed on the 
mind of our young mariner. The Rover lay secret- 
ly moored with a spring, with a view to bring his 
guns more readily to bear upon the battery, should 
his defence become necessary, and he now profited, 
by the circumstance, in order to prevent the trader 
from passing to leeward. The whole arrangement 
excited a good deal pf surprise, and not a few exe- 
crations among the officers of the “ Caroline though 


THE RED ROVER. 


199 


none but her Commander had the smallest twinkling 
of the real reason why the hedge had thus been laid, 
and why a warp was so awkwardly stretched across 
their path. Of the whole number, the pilot alone 
saw cause to rejoice in the circumstance. He had, 
in fact, got the ship in such a situation, as to render 
it nearly as difficult to proceed in one way as in the 
other ; and he was now furnished with a sufficient 
justification, should any accident occur, in the course 
of the exceedingly critical manoeuvre, from whose 
execution there was now no retreat. 

“ This is an extraordinary liberty to take in the 
mouth of a harbour,” muttered Wilder, when his 
pyes put him in possession of the fact just related. 
“ You must shove her by to windward, pilot ; there 
is no remedy.” 

“ I wash my hands of the consequences, as I call 
all on board to witness,” returned tlie other, with 
the air of a deeply offended man, though secretly 
glad of the appearance of being driven to the very 
measure he was a minute before so obstinately bent 
on executing. “ Law must be called in here, if 
sticks are snapped, or rigging parted. Luff to a hair, 
boy : luff her short into the wind, and try a half- 
board.” 

The man at the helm obeyed the order. Releas- 
ing his hold of its spokes, the wheel made a quick 
evolution ; and tlie ship, feeling a fresh impulse of 
the wind, turned her head heavily towards the quar- 
ter whence it came, the canvas fluttering with a 
noise like that produced by a flock of water-fowl 
just taking wing. But, met by the helm again, she 
soon fell off as before, powerless from having lost 
her way, and settling bodily down toward the fancied 
slaver, impelled by the air, which seemed, however, 
to have lost much of its force, at the critical instant 
it was most needed. 

The situation of the “ Caroline” was one which 


200 


THE RED ROVER. 


a seaman will readily understand. She had forged 
so far ahead as to lie directly on the weather-beam 
of the stranger, but too near to enable her to fall-off 
in the least, without imminent danger that the ves- 
sels would come foul. The wind was inconstant, 
sometimes blowing in puffs, while at moments there 
was a perfect lull. As the ship felt the former, her 
tall masts bent gracefully towards the slaver, as if 
to make the parting salute ; but, relieved from the 
momentary pressure of the inconstant air, she as 
often rolled hOavily to windward, without ad trancing 
, a foot. The effect of each change, however, was 
to bring her still nigher to her dangerous neighbour, 
until it became evident, to the judgment of the 
youngest seaman in the vessel, that nothing but a 
sudden shift of wind could enable her to pass ahead, 
the more especially as the tide was on the change. 

As the inferior officers of the “ Caroline” were 
not delicate in their commentaries on the dulness 
which had brought them into so awkward and so 
mortifying a position, the pilot endeavoured to con- 
ceal his own vexation, by the number and vocifer- 
ousness of his orders. From blustering, he soon 
passed into confusion, until the men themselves stood 
idle, not knowing which of the uncertain and con- 
tradictory mandates they received ought to be first 
obeyed. In the mean time. Wilder had folded his 
arms with an appearance of entir.e composure, and 
taken his station near his. female passengers. Mrs 
Wyllys closely studied his eye, with the wish of 
ascertaining, by its expression, the nature and ex- 
tent of their danger, if danger there might be, in 
the approaching collision of two .ships in water that 
was perfectly smooth, and where one was stationa- 
ry, and the motion of the other scarcely perceptible. 
The stern, determined look she saw settling about 
the brow of the young man excited an uneasiness 
that she would not otherwise have felt, perhaps, un- 


THE RED ROVER. 


^201 


der circumstances that, in themselves, bore no very 
vivid appearance of hazard. 

“ Have we aught to apprehend, sir demanded 
the governess, endeavouring to conceal from her 
charge the nature of her own disquietude. 

“ 1 told you. Madam, the ‘ Caroline’ would prove 
an unlucky ship.” 

Both females regarded the peculiarly bitter smile 
with which Wilder made this reply as an evil omen, 
and Gertrude clung to her companion as to one on 
whom she had long been accustomed to lean. 

“ Why do not the mariners of the slaver appear, 
to assist us — to keep us from coming too nigh ?” anx- 
iously exclaimed the latter. ■ 

‘‘ Why do, they not, indeed ! but we shall see them, 
I think, ere long.” 

“ You speak and look, young man, as if you 
thought there would be danger in the interview !” 

“ Keep near to me,” returned Wilder, in tones 
that were nearly smothered by the manner in which 
he compressed his lips. “ In every event, keep as 
nigh my person as possible.” 

“ Haul the spanker-boom to windward,” shouted 
the pilot ; “ lower away the boats, and tow the 
ship’s head round — clear away the stream anchor — 
aft gib-sheet— board main tack, again.” 

The astonished men stood like statues, not know- 
ing whither to turn, some calling to the rest to do 
this or that, and some as loudly countermanding the 
order ; when an authoritative voice was heard calm- 
ly to say, — 

“ Silence in the ship.” 

The tones were of that sort which, while they 
denote the self-possession of the speaker, never fail 
to inspire the inferior with a portion of the confi- 
dence of him who commands. Every face was turn- 
ed towards the quarter of the vessel whence the 
sound proceeded, as if each ear was ready to catch 


THE RED ROVER. 


m2 

the smallest additional mandate. Wilder was stand- 
ing on the head of the capstan, where he could com- 
mand a full view on every side of him. With a quick 
and understanding glance, he had made himself a 
perfect master of the situation of his ship. His eye 
was at the instant fixed anxiously on the slaver, as if 
it would pierce the treacherous calm which still 
reigned on all about her, in order to know how far 
his exertions might be permitted to be useful. But 
it appeared as if the stranger lay like some enchant- 
ed vessel on the water, not a human form even ap- 
pearing about all her complicated machinery, except 
the seaman already named, who still continued his 
employment, as though' the “Caroline” was not with- 
in a hundred miles of the place where he sat. The 
lips of Wilder moved : it might be in bitterness ; it 
might be in satisfaction ; for, a smile of the most 
equivocal nature lighted his features, as he continued, 
in the same deep, commanding voice as before, — 

“ Throw all aback — lay every thing flat to the 
masts, forward and aft.” 

“ Ay !” echoed the pilot, “ lay every thing flat to 
the masts.” 

“Is there a shove-boat alongside the ship?” de- 
manded our adventurer. 

The answer, from a dozen voices, was in the af- 
firmative. 

“ Show that pilot into her.” 

“ This is an unlawful order,” exclaimed the other ; 
“ and I forbid any voice but mine to be obeyed.” 

“ Throw him in,” sternly repeated Wilder. 

Amid the bustle and exertion of bracing round the 
yards, the resistance of the pilot produced little or 
no sensation. He was soon raised on the extended 
arms of the two mates; and, after exhibiting his 
limbs in sundry contortions in the air, he was drop- 
ped into the boat, with as little ceremony as though 
he had been a billet of wood. The end of the 


THE RED ROVER. 


203 


painter was cast after him ; and then the discomfit- 
ed guide was left, with singular indifference, to his 
own meditations. 

In the mean time, the order of Wilder had been 
executed. Those vast sheets of canvas which, a 
moment before, had been either fluttering in the air, 
or were bellying inward or outward, as they touched 
or filled, as it is technically called, were now all 
pressing against their respective masts, impelling the 
vessel to retrace her mistaken path. The manoeuvre 
required the utmost attention, and the nicest delicacy 
in its direction. But her young Commander proved 
himself, in every particular, competent to his task. 
Here^ a sail was lifted ; there, another was brought 
with a flatter surface to the air ; now, the lighter 
canvas was spread; and now it disappeared, like 
thin vapour suddenly dispelled by the sun. The 
voice of Wilder, throughout, though calm, was breath- 
ing with authority. The ship itself seemed, like an 
animated being, conscious that her destinies were 
reposed in different, and more intelligent, hands than 
before. Obedient to the new impulse they had re- 
ceived, the immense cloud of canvas, with all its tall 
forest of spars and rigging, rolled to and fro ; and 
then, having overcome the state of comparative rest 
in which it had been lying, the vessel heavily yielded 
to the pressure, and began to recede. 

Throughout the whole of the time necessary to 
extricate the “ Caroline,” the attention of Wilder 
was divided between his own ship and his inexplica- 
ble neighbour. Not a sound was heard to issue from 
the imposing and death-like stillness of the latter. 
Not a single anxious countenance, not even one lurk- 
ing eye, was to be detected, at any of the numerous 
outlets by which the inmates of an armed vessel can 
look abroad upon the deep. The seaman on the 
yard continued his labour, like a man unconscious 
of any thing but his own existence. There was 


204 


THE RED ROVER. 


however, a slow, though nearly imperceptible, mo- 
tion in the ship itself, which was apparently made, 
like the lazy movement of a slumbering whale, more 
by listless volition, than through any agency of human 
hands. 

Not the smallest of these changes escaped the 
keen and understanding examination of Wilder. He 
saw, that, as his own ship retired, the side of the 
slaver was gradually exposed to the “Caroline.’’ 
The muzzles of the threatening guns gaped constant- 
ly on his vessel, as the eye of the crouching tiger 
follows the movement of its prey ; and at no time, 
while nearest, did there exist a single instant that 
the decks of the latter ship could not have been 
swept, by a general discharge from the battery of the 
former. -At each successive order issued from his 
own lips, our adventurer turned his eye, with increas- 
ing interest, to ascertain whether he would be per- 
mitted to execute it ; and never did he feel certain 
that he was left to the sole management of the “ Car- 
oline” until he found that she had backed from her 
dangerous proximity to the other ; and that, obedient 
to a new disposition of her sails, she was falling off, 
before the light air, in a place where he could hold 
her entirely at command. 

Finding that the tide was getting unfavourable, 
and the wind too light to stem it, the sails were then 
drawn to her yards in festoons, and an anchor was 
dropped to the bottom. 


THE RED ROVER. 


205 


CHAPTER XIIl. 

“ What have here ? A man, or a fish ?” — The Tempest. 

The “Caroline” nov^r lay within a cable’s length 
of the supposed slaver. In dismissing the pilot, 
Wilder had assumed a responsibility from which a 
seaman usually shrinks ; since, in the case of any un- 
toward accident in leaving the port, it would involve 
a loss of insurance, and his own probable punish- 
ment. How far he had been influenced, in taking 
so decided a step, by a knowledge of his being be- 
yond, or above, the reach of the law, will probably 
be made manifest in the course of the narrative ; the 
only immediate effect of the measure, was, to draw 
the whole of his attention, which had before been 
so much divided between his passengers and the 
ship, to the care of the latter. But, so soon as his 
vessel was secured, for a time at least, and his mind 
was no longer excited by the expectation of a scene 
of immediate violence, our adventurer found leisure 
to return to his former, though (to so thorough a sea- 
man) scarcely more agreeable occupation. The 
success of his delicate manoeuvre had imparted to 
his countenance a glow of something very like tri- 
umph; and his step, as he advanced towards Mrs 
Wyllys and Gertrude, was that of a man who enjoy- 
ed the consciousness of having acquitted himself 
dexterously, in circumstances that required no small 
exhibition of professional skill. At least, such was 
the construction the former lady put upon his kindling 
eye and exulting air ; though the latter might, possi- 
bly, be disposed to judge of his motives with greater 
indulgence. Perhaps both were ignorant of the se- 
cret reasons of his self-felicitation ; and it is possible 
that a sentiment, of a far more generous nature than 
VoL. I. S 


206 


THE RED ROVER. 


either of them could imagine, had a full share of its 
influence in his present feelings. 

Be this as it might, Wilder no sooner saw that the 
“ Caroline” was swinging to her anchor, and that his 
services were of no further immediate use, than he 
sought an opportunity to renew a conversation which 
had hitherto been so vague, and so often interrupted. 
Mrs Wyllys had long been viewing the neighbouring 
vessel with a steady look ; nor did she now turn her 
gaze from the motionless and silent object, until the 
young mariner was near her person. She was then 
the first to speak. 

“ Yonder vessel must possess an extraordinary, 
not to say an insensible, crew !” exclaimed the gov- 
erness, in a tone bordering on astonishment. “ If 
such things were, it would not be difticult to fancy 
her a spectre-ship.” 

“She is truly an admirably proportioned and a 
beautiful equipped trader !” 

“ Did my apprehensions deceive me ? or were 
we in actual danger of getting the two vessels en- 
tangled ?” 

“ There was certainly some reason for apprehen- 
sion ; but you see we are safe.” 

“ For which we have to thank your skill. The 
manner in which you have just extricated us from 
the late danger, has a direct tendency to contradict 
all that you were pleased to foretel of that which is 
to come.” 

“ I well know. Madam, that my conduct may hear 
an unfavourable construction, but” — 

“ You thought it no harm to laugh at the weak- 
ness of three credulous females,” continued Mrs 
Wyllys, smiling. “ Well, you have had your amuse- 
ment ; and now, I hope, you will be more disposed 
to pity what is said to be a natural infirmity of wo- 
man’s mind.” 

As the governess concluded, she glanced her eye 


THE RED ROVER. 


207 


at Gertrude, with an expression that seemed to say^ 
it would be cruel, now, to trifle further with the ap- 

f )rehensions of one so innocent and so yo'ung. The 
ook of Wilder followed her own ; and when he an- 
swered, it was with a sincerity that was well calcu- 
lated to carry conviction in its tones. 

“ On the faith which a gentleman owes to all your 
sex. Madam, what I have already told you I still 
continue to believe.” 

“ The gammonings and the top-gallant-masts !” 

“ No, no,” interrupted the young mariner, slightly 
laughing, and at the same time colouring a good 
deal ; “ perhaps not all of that. But neither mother, 
wife, nor sister of mine, should make this passage 
in the ‘ Royal Caroline.’ ” 

“ Your look, your voice, and your air of good 
faith, make a strange contradiction to your words, 
young man ; for, while the former almost tempt me 
to believe you honest, the latter have not a shade of 
reason to support them. Perhaps I ought to be 
ashamed of such a weakness, and yet I will acknow- 
ledge, that the mysterious quiet, which seems to 
have settled for ever on yonder ship, has excited an 
inexplicable uneasiness, that may in some way be 
connected with her character. — She is certainly a 
slaver ?” 

“ She is certainly beautiful !” exclaimed Gertrude. 
“ Very beautiful !” Wilder gravely rejoined. 

“ There is a man still seated on one of her yards 
who appears to be entranced in his occupation,” 
continued Mrs Wyllys, leaning her chin thoughtfully 
on her hand, as she gazed at the object of which she 
was speaking. “ Not once, during the time we were 
in so much danger of getting the ships entangled, 
did that seaman bestow so much as a stolen glance 
towards us. He resembles the solitary individual in 
the city of the transformed ; for not another mortal 


208 


THE RED ROVER. 


is there to keep him company, so far as we may 
discover.” 

“ Perhaps his comrades sleep,” said Gertrude. 

‘‘ Sleep ! Mariners do not sleep in an hour and a 
day like this ! Tell me, Mr Wilder, (you that are a 
seaman should know), is it usual for the crew to 
sleep when a strange vessel is so nigh — near even to 
touching, I might almost say ?” 

“ It is not.” 

“ I thought as much ; for I am not an entire novice 
in matters of your daring, your hardy, your nohle 
profession !” returned the governess, with deep em- 
phasis. “ And, had we gone foul of the slaver, do 
you think her crew would have maintained their 
apathy ?” 

“ I think not. Madam.” 

“ There is something, in all this assumed tranquil- 
lity, which might induce one to suspect the worst of 
her character. Is it known that any of her crew 
have had communication with the town, since her 
arrival?” 

‘‘ It is.” 

“ I have heard that false colours have been seen 
on the Coast, and that ships have been plundered, 
and their people and passengers maltreated, during 
the past summer. It is even thought that the famous 
Rover has tired of his excesses on the Spanish Main, 
and that a vessel was not long since seen in the 
Caribbean sea, which was thought to be the cruiser 
of that desperate pirate !” 

Wilder made no reply. His eyes, which had been 
fastened steadily, though respectfully, on those of. 
the speaker, fell to the deck, and he appeared to 
await whatever her further pleasure might choose to 
utter. The governess mused a moment ; and then, 
with a change in the expression of her countenance 
which proved that her suspicion of the truth was too 


Titfi RED ROVER. 209 

light to Continue without further and better confirm- 
ation, she added, — 

“ After all, the Occupation of a slaver is bad 
enough, and unhappily by far too probable, to render 
it necessary to attribute any worse character to the 
stranger. 1 would I knew the motive of your sin- 
gular assertions, Mr Wilder?” 

“ 1 cannot better explain them, Madam : unless 
my manner produces its effect, I fail altogether in 
my intentions, which at least are sincere.” 

“ Is not the risk lessened by your presence ?” 

“ Lessened, but not removed.” 

Until now, Gertrude had rather listened, as if un- 
avoidably, than seemed to make one of the party. 
But here she turned quickly, and perhaps a little 
impatiently, to Wilder, and, while her cheeks glow- 
ed, she demanded, with a smile that might have 
brought even a more obdurate man to his confes- 
sion, — 

“ Is it forbidden to be more explicit ?” 

The young Commander hesitated, perhaps as 
much to dwell upon the ingenuous features of the 
speaker, as to decide upon his answer. The colour 
mounted into his own embrowned cheek, and his 
eye lighted with a gleam of open pleasure ; then, as 
though suddenly reminded that he was delaying to 
reply, he said, — 

“ I am certain, that, in relying on your discretion, 
I shall be safe.” 

“ Doubt it not,” returned Mrs Wyllys. “ In no 
event shall you ever be betrayed.” 

“ Betrayed ! For myself. Madam, I have little 
fear. If you suspect me of personal apprehension, 
you do me great injustice.” 

We suspect you of nothing unworthy,” said Ger- 
trude hastily, “ but — we are very anxious for our- 
selves.” 


210 


THE RED ROVER. 


“ Then will 1 relieve your uneasiness, though at 
the expense 

A call, from one of the mates to the other, arrest- 
ed his words for the moment, and drew his attention 
to the neighbouring ship. 

“ The slaver’s people have just found out that 
their ship is not made to put in a glass case, to be 
looked at by women and children,” cried the speak- 
er, in tones loud enough to send his words into the 
fore-top, where the messmate he addressed was at- 
tending to some especial duty. 

“ Ay, ay,” was the answer ; “ seeing us in motion, 
has put him in mind of his next voyage. They keep 
watch aboard the fellow, like the sun in Greenland ; 
six months on deck, and six months. below !” 

The witticism produced, as usual, a laugh among 
the seamen, who continued their remarks, in a simi- 
lar vein, but in tones more suited to the deference 
due to their superiors. ^ 

The eyes, however, of Wilder had fastened them- 
selves on the other ship. The man so long seated 
on the end of the main-yard had disappeared, and 
another sailor was deliberately walking along the 
opposite quarter of the same spar, steadying himself 
by the boom, and holding in one hand the end of a 
rope, which he was apparently about to reeve in 
the place where it properly belonged. The first 
glance told Wilder that the latter was Fid, who was 
so far recovered from his debauch as to tread the 
giddy height with as much, if not greater, steadiness 
than he would have rolled along the ground, had his 
duty called him to terra firma. The countenance of 
the young man, which, an instant before, had been 
Hushed with excitement, and which was beaming 
with the pleasure of an opening confidence, changed 
directly to a look of gloom and reserve. Mrs Wyl- 
lys, who had lost no shade of the varying expression 


THE RED ROVER. 


211 


of his face, resumed the discourse, with some earn 
estness, where he had seen fit so abruptly to break 
it oif. 

“ You would relieve us,” she said, “ at the expense 
of” 

“ Life, Madam ; but not of honour.” 

‘‘ Gertrude, we can now retire to our cabin,” ob- 
served Mrs Wyllys, with an air of cold displeasure, 
in which disappointment was a good deal mingled 
with resentment at the trifling of which she believ- 
ed herself the subject. The eye of Gertrude was 
no less averted and distant than that of her govern- 
ess, while the tint that gave lustre to its beam was 
brighter, if not quite so resentful. As the two moved 
past the silent Wilder, each dropped a distant salute, 
and then our adventurer found himself the sole oc- 
cupant of the quarter-deck. While his crew were 
busied in coiling ropes, and clearing the decks, their 
young Commander leaned* his head on the taffrail, 
(that .part of the vessel which the good relict of the 
Rear-Admiral had so strangely confounded with a 
very different object in the other end of the ship), 
remaining for many minutes in an attitude of deep 
abstraction. From this reverie he was at length 
aroused, by a sound like that produced by the lifting 
and falling of a light oar into the water. Believing 
himself about to be annoyed by visiters from the 
land, he raised his head, and cast a dissatisfied glance 
over the vessel’s side, to see who was approaching. 

A light skiff*, such as is commonly used by fish- 
ermen in the bays and shallow waters of America, 
was lying within ten feet of the ship, and in a posi- 
tion where it was necessary to take some little pains 
in order to observe it. It was occupied by a single 
man, whose back was towards the vessel, and who 
was apparently abroad on the ordinary business of 
the owner of such a boat. 

‘‘ Are you in search of rudder-fish, my friend, that 


212 


THE RED ROVER. 


you hang so closely under my counter ?” demanded 
Wilder. “ The hay is said to be full of delicious 
bass, and other scaly gentlemen, that would far better 
repay your trouble.” 

“ He is well paid who gets the bite he baits for,” 
returned the other, turning his head, and exhibiting 
the cunning eye and chuckling countenance of old 
Bob Bunt, as Wilder’s recent and treacherous con- 
federate had announced his name to be. 

“How now! Dare yon trust yourself with me, in 
live-fathom water, after the villanous trick you have 
seen fit” 

“Hist! noble Captain, hist!” interrupted Bob, 
holding up a finger, to repress the other’s animation, 
and intimating, by a sign, that their conference mus'; 
be held in lower tones ; “ there is no need to call al’ 
hands to help us through a little chat. In \Vhat way 
have 1 fallen to leeward of your favour. Captain ?” 

“ In what way, sirrah# Did you not receive money, 
to give such a character of this ship to the ladies as 
(you said yourself) would make them sooner pass 
the night in a churchyard, than trust foot on board 
her?” 

“ Something of the sort passed between us. Cap- 
tain ; but you forgot one half of the conditions, and 
J overlooked the other ; and I need not tell so expert 
a navigator, that two halves make a whole. No 
wonder, therefore, that the affair dropt through be- 
tween us.” 

“ How ! Do you add falsehood to perfidy ? What 
part of my engagement did I neglect ?” 

“ What part !” returned the pretended fisherman, 
leisurely drawing in a line, which the qjiick eye of 
Wilder saw, though abundantly provided with lead 
at the end, was destitute of the equally material im- 
plement — the hook ; “ What part. Captain ! No less 
a particular than the second guinea.” 

“ It was to have been the reward of a service 


THE RED ROVER. 213 

done, and not an earnest, like its fellow, to induce 
you to undertake the duty.” 

“ Ah ! you have helped me to the very word 1 
wanted. I fancied it was not in earnest, like the one 
I got, and so I left the job half finished.” 

“ Half finished, scoundrel ! you never commenced 
what you swore so stoutly to perform.” 

“ Now are you on as wrong a course, my Master, 
as if you steered due east to get to the Pole. I re- 
ligiously performed one half my undertaking ; and, 
you will acknowledge, I was only half paid.” 

“ You would find it difficult to prove that you 
even did that little.” 

“ Let us look into the log. I enlisted to walk up 
the hill as far as the dwelling of the good Admiral’s 
widow, and there to make certain alterations in my 
sentiments, which it is not necessary to speak of 
between us.” 

“ Which you did not make ; but, on the contrary, 
which you thwarted, by tffiling an exactly contra- 
dictory tale.” 

“ True.” 

“ True ! knave? — Were justice done you, an ac- 
quaintance with a rope’s end would be a merited 
reward.” 

“ A squall of words ! — If your ship steer as wild 
as your ideas, Captain, you will make a crooked 
passage to the south. Do you not think it an easier 
matter, for an old man like me, to tell a few lies 
than to climb yonder long and heavy hill? In strict 
justice, more than half my duty was done when I 
got into the presence of the believing widow ; and 
then I concluded to refuse the half of the reward 
that was unpaid, and to take bounty from t’other 
side.” 

“ Villain !” exclaimed Wilder, a little blinded by 
resentment, “ even your years shall no longer pro- 
tect you from punishment. Forward, there ! send 


214 


THE RED ROVER. 


a crew into the jolly boat, sir, and bring me this old 
fellow in the skilF on board the ship. Pay no atten- 
tion to his outcries ; I have an account to settle with 
him, that cannot be balanced without a little noise.” 

The mate, to whom this order was addressed, and 
who had answered the hail, jumped on the rail, where 
he got sight of the craft he was commanded to chase. 
In less than a minute he was in the boat, with four 
men, and pulling round the bows of the ship, in or- 
der to get on the side necessary to effect his object. 
The self-styled Bob Bunt gave one or two strokes 
with his skulls, and sent the skiff some twenty or 
thirty fathoms off, where he lay, chuckling like a 
man who saw only the success of his cunning, with- 
out any apparent apprehensions of the consequences. 
But, the moment the boat appeared in view, he laid 
himself to the work with vigorous arms, and soon 
convinced the spectators that his capture was not to 
be achieved without abundant difficulty. 

For some little time, if was doubtful what course 
the fugitive meant to take ; for he kept whirling and 
turning in swift and sudden circles, completely con- 
fusing and baffling his pursuers, by his skilful and 
light evolutions. But, soon tiring of this taunting 
amusement, or perhaps apprehensive of exhausting 
his own strength, which was powerfully and most 
dexterously exerted, it was not long before he darted 
off in a perfectly straight line, taking the direction 
of the “ Rover.” 

The chase now grew hot and earnest, exciting the 
clamour and applause of most of the nautical spec- 
tators. The result, for a time, seemed doubtful ; but, 
if any thing, the jolly boat, though some distance 
astern, began to gain, as it gradually overcame the 
resistance of the water. In a very few minutes, 
however, the skiff shot under the stern of the other 
ship, and disappeared, bringing the hull of the vessel 
in a line with the “ Caroline” and its course. The 


THE RED ROVER. 


215 


pursuers were not long in taking the same direction ; 
and then the seamen of the latter ship began, laugh- 
ingly, to climb the rigging, in order to command a 
further view, over the intervening object. 

Nothing, however, was to be seen beyond but 
water, and the still more distant island, with its little 
fort. In a few minutes, the crew of the jolly boat 
were observed pulling back in their path, returning 
slowly, like men who were disappointed. All crowd- 
ed to the side of the ship, in order to hear the ter- 
mination of the adventure ; the noisy assemblage 
even drawing the two passengers from the cabin to 
the deck. Instead, however, of meeting the questions 
of their shipmates with the usual wordy narrative of 
men of their condition, the crew of the boat wore 
startled and bewildered looks. Their officer sprang 
to the deck without speaking, and immediately sought 
his Commander. 

“ The skiff was too light for you, Mr Nighthead,” 
Wilder calmly observed, al the other approached, 
having never moved, himself, from the place where 
lie had been standing during the whole proceeding, 

“ Too light, sir! Are you acquainted with the man 
who pulled it?” 

“ Not particularly well : I only know him for a 
knave.” 

He should be one, since he is of the family of 
the devil I” 

“ I will not take on myself to say he is as bad as 
you appear to think, though I have little reason to 
believe he has any honesty to cast into the sea. 
What has become of him ?” 

‘‘A question easily asked, but hard to answer. 
In the first place, though an old and a gray-headed 
fellow, he twitched his skiff along as if it floated in 
air. We were not a minute, or two'^it the most, be- 
hind him ; but, when we got on the other side of the 
slaver, boat and man had vanished !” 


216 


THE RED ROVER. 


“ He doubled her bows while you were crossing 
the stern.” 

“ Did you see him, then ?” 

“ I confess we did not.” 

“ It could not be, sir ; since we pulled far enough 
ahead to examine on both sides at once.; besides, the 
people of the slaver knew nothing of him.” 

“ You saw the slaver’s people ?” 

“ I should have said her man ; for there is seem- 
ingly but one hand on board her.” 

‘‘ And how was he employed ?” 

“ He was seated in the chains, and seem’d to have 
been asleep. It is a lazy ship, sir ; and one that 
takes more money from her owners, I fancy, than it 
ever returns !” 

“It may be so. Well, let the rogue escape. There 
is the prospect of a breeze coming in from the sea, 
Mr Earing ; we will get our top-sails to the mast-heads 
again, and be in readiness for it. I could like yet to 
see the sun set in the water.” 

The mates and the crew went cheerfully to their 
task, though many a curious question was asked, by 
the wondering seamen, of their shipmates who had 
been in the boat, and many a solemn answer was 
given, while they were again spreading the canvas, 
to invite the breeze. Wilder turned, in the mean 
time, to Mrs Wyllys, who had been an auditor of 
his short conversation with the mate. 

“ You perceive. Madam,” he said, “ that oiir voy- 
age does not commence without its omens ” 

“ When you tell me, inexplicable young man, with 
the air of singular sincerity you sometimes possess, 
that we are unwise in trusting to the ocean, I am 
half inclined to put faith in what you say ; but when 
you attempt to enforce your advice with the ma- 
chinery of witchcraft, you only induce me to pro- 
ceed.” 

“Man the windlass!?’ cried Wilder, with a look 


THE RED ROVER. 


217 


that seemed to tell his companions, If you are so 
stout of heart, the opportunity to show your resolu- 
tion shall not be wanting. “ Man the wundlass there ! 
We will try the breeze again, and work the ship into 
the offing while there is light.” 

The clattering of handspikes preceded the mari- 
ners’ song. Then the heavy labour, by which the 
ponderous iron was lifted from the bottom, was 
again resumed, and, in a few more minutes, the ship 
was once more released from* her hold upon the land. 

The wind soon came fresh off the ocean, charged 
with the saline dampness of the element. As the 
air fell upon the distended and balanced sails, the 
ship bowed to the welcome guest ; and then, rising 
gracefully from its low inclination, the breeze was 
heard singing, through the maze of rigging, the mu- 
sic that is ever grateful to a seaman’s ear. The wel- 
come sounds, and the freshness of the peculiar air, 
gave additional energy to the movements of the 
men. The anchor was stowed, the ship cast, the 
lighter sails set, the courses had fallen, and the bows 
of the “ Caroline” were throwing the spray before 
her, ere another ten minutes had gone by. 

Wilder had now undertaken himself the task of 
running his vessel between the islands of Connanni- 
cut and Rhode. Fortunately for the heavy respon- 
sibility he had assumed, the channel was not diffi- 
cult, and the wind had veered so far to the east as 
to give him a favourable opportunity, after making 
a short stretch to windward, of laying through in a 
single reach. But this stretch would bring him un- 
der the necessity of passing very near the “ Rover,” 
or of losing no small portion of his ’vantage ground. 
He did not hesitate. When the vessel was as nigh 
the weather shore as his busy lead told him was pru- 
dent, the ship w'as tacked, and her head laid direct- 
ly towards the still motionless and seemingly unob- 
servant slaver. 

VOL. I. 


T 


218 


THE RED ROVER. 


The approach of the “ Caroline” was far more 
propitious than before. The wind was steady, and 
her crew held her in hand, as a skilful rider governs 
the action of a fiery and mettled steed. Still the 
passage was not made without exciting a breathless 
interest in every soul in the Bristol trader. Each 
individual had his own secret cause of curiosity. 
To the seamen, the strange ship began to be the sub- 
ject of wonder ; the governess, and her ward, scarce 
knew the reasons of their emotions ; while Wilder 
was but too well instructed in the nature of the 
hazard that all but himself were running. As be- 
fore, the man at the wheel was about to indulge his 
nautical pride, by going to windward ; but, although 
the experiment would now have been attended with 
but little hazard, he was commanded to proceed dif- 
ferently. 

‘‘ Pass the slaver’s lee-beam,, sir,” said Wilder to 
him, with a gesture of authority ; and then the young 
Captain went himself to lean on the weather-rail, 
like every other idler on board, to examine the ob- 
ject they were so fast approaching. As the “ Caro- 
line” came boldly up, seeming to bear the breeze be- 
fore her, the sighing of the wind, as it murmured 
through the rigging of the stranger, was the only 
sound that issued from her. Not a single human 
face, not even a secret and curious eye, was any 
where to be seen. The passage was of course rapid , 
and, as the two vessels, for an instant, lay with heads 
and sterns nearly equal. Wilder thought it was to be 
made without the slightest notice from the imaginary 
slaver. But he was mistaken. A light, active form, 
in the undress attire of a naval officer, sprang upon 
the taffrail, and waved a sea-cap in salute. The in- 
stant the fair hair was blowing about the coun- 
tenance of this individual, Wilder recognized the 
quick, keen eye and features of the Rover. 


THE RED ROVER. 

“ Think you the wind will hold here, sir ?” shout- 
ed the latter, at the top of his voice. 

“It has come in fresh enough to be steady,” was 
the answer. 

“ A wise mariner would get all his easting in time 
to me, there is a smack of West-Indies about it.” 

“ You believe we shall have it more at south ?” 

“ 1 do : But a taught bow-line, for the night, will ’ 
carry you clear.” 

By this time the “ Caroline” had swept by, and 
she was now luffing, across the slaver's bows, into 
her course again. The figure on the taffrail waved 
high the sea-cap in adieu, and disappeared. 

“ Is it possible that such a man can traffic in hu- 
man beings !” exclaimed Gertrude, when the sounds 
of both voices had ceased. 

Receiving no reply, she turned quickly, to regard 
her companion. The governess was standing like a 
being entranced, with her eyes looking on vacancy ; 
for they had not changed their direction since the 
motion of the vessel had carried her beyond the 
countenance of the stranger. As Gertrude took her 
hand, and repeated the question, the recollection of 
Mrs Wyllys returned. Passing her own hand over 
her brow, with a bewildered air, she forced a smile, 
as she said, — 

“ The meeting of vessels, or the renewal of any 
maritime experience, never fails to revive my earli- 
est recollections, love. But surely tliat was an ex- 
traordinary being, who has at length shown himself 
in the slaver !” 

“ For a slaver, most extraordinary !” 

Wyllys leaned her head on her hand for an instant, 
and then turned to seek the person of Wilder. The 
young mariner was standing near, studying the ex- 
pression of her countenance, with an interest scarce- 
ly less remarkable than her own air of thought. 


220 


THE RED ROVER. 


“ Tell me, young man, is yonder individual the 
Commander of the slaver ?” 

“ He li” 

“ You know him ?” 

“ We have met.” 

“ And he is called”- 

“ The Master of yon ship. I know no other name.” 

“ Gertrude, we will seek our cabin.- When the 
land is leaving us, Mr Wilder will have the goodness 
to let us know.” 

The latter bowed his assent, and the ladies then 
left the deck. The “ Caroline” had now the pros- 
pect of getting speedily to sea. In order to effect 
this object. Wilder bad evefy thing, that would 
draw, set to the utmost advantage. One hundred 
times, at least, however, did he turn his head, to 
steal a look at the vessel he had left behind. She 
ever lay as when they passed — ^a regular, beautiful, 
but motionless object, in the bay. From each of 
these furtive examinations, our adventurer invariably 
cast an excited and impatient glance at the s.ilils of 
his own ship ; ordering this to be drawn tigliter to 
tbe spar beneath, or that to be more distended along 
its mast. 

The effect of so much solicitude, united with so 
much skill, was to ui^e the Bristol trader through 
her element at a rate she had rarely, if ever, surpass- 
ed. It was not long before the land ceased to be 
seen on her two beams, and then it was only to be 
traced in the blue islands in their rear, or in a long, 
dim horizon, to the north and west, where the lim- 
its of the vast Continent stretches for countless 
leagues. The passengers were now summoned to 
take their parting look at the land, and the officers 
were seen noting their departures. J ust before the 
day shut in, and ere the islands were entirely sunk 
into the waves. Wilder ascended to an upper yard. 


THE RED ROVER. 


2^1 

bearing in his hand a glass. His gaze, towards the 
haven he had left, was long, anxious, and abstracted. 
But his descent was distinguished bj a more quiet 
eye, and a calmer mien. A smile, like that of suc- 
cess, played about his lips ; and he gave his orders 
clearly, in a cheierfiil, en<;ouraging voice. They 
were obeyed as briskly. The elder mariners pointed 
to the seas, as they cut through them, and affirmed 
that never had the “ Caroline” made such progress. 
The mates cast the log, and nodded their approba- 
tion, as one announced to the other the unwonted 
speed of the ship. In short, content and hilarity 
reigned on board ; for it was deemed that their pas- 
sage was commenced under such auspices as would 
lead it to a speedy and a prosperous termination. In 
the midst of these encouraging omens, the sun dipped 
into the sea, illuming, as it fell, a wide reach of the 
chill and gloomy element. Then the shades of the 
hour began to gather over the vast surface of the 
illimitable waste. 


CHAPTER XIV. 

“ So foul and fair a day I have not seen.” — Macbeth. 


The first'watch of the night was marked by no 
change. Wilder had joined his passengers, cheerful, 
and with that air of enjoyment which every officer 
of I he sea is more or less wont to exhibit, when he 
has disengaged his vessel from the dangers of the land, 
and has fairly launched heron the trackless and fath- 
omless abyss of the ocean. He no longer alluded 
to the hazards of the passage, but strove, by the 
thousand nameless assiduities which his station en- 
abled him to manifest, to expel all recollection of 
what had passed from their minds. Mrs Wyllys lent 
T 2 


222 


THE RED ROVER. 


herself to his evident efforts to remove their appre- 
hensions ; and one, ignorant of what had occurred 
between them, would have thought the little party, 
around the evening’s repast, was a contented and 
unsuspecting group of travellers, who had commenc- 
ed their enterprise underj;he happiest auguries. 

Still there was that, in the thoughtful eye and 
clouded brow of the governess, as at times she turn- 
ed her bewildered look on our adventurer, which 
denoted a mind far from being at ease. She listened 
to the gay and peculiar, because professional, sallies 
of the young mariner, with smiles that were indul- 
gent, while they were melancholy, as though his 
youthful spirits, exhibited as they were by touches 
of a humour that was thoroughly and quaintly nau- 
tical, recalled familiar, but sad, images to her fancy. 
Gertrude had less alloy in her pleasure. Home, with 
a beloved and indulgent father, were before her ; 
and she felt, while the ship yielded to each fresh im- 
pulse of the wind, as if another of those weary miles, 
which had so long separated them, was already con- 
quered. 

During these short but })leasant hours, the adven- 
turer, who had been so oddly called into the com- 
mand of the Bristol trader, appeared in a new char- 
acter. Though his conversation was* characterized 
by the frank manliness of a seaman, it was, never- 
theless, tempered by the delicacy of perfect breeding. 
The beautiful mouth of Gertrude often struggled to 
conceal the smiles which played around her lips and 
dimpled her cheeks, like a soft air ruffling the surface 
of some limpid spring ; and once or twice, when the 
humour of Wilder came unexpectedly across her 
youthful fancy, she was compelled to yield to the im- 
pulses of an irresistible merriment. 

One hour of the free intercourse of a ship can do 
more towards softening the cold exterior in which 
the world encrusts the "best of human feelings, than 


THE RED ROVER. 


223 


weeks of the unmeaning ceremonies of the land. 
He who has not felt this truth, would do well to dis- 
trust his own companionable qualities. It would seem 
that man, when he finds himself in the solitude of 
the ocean, feels the deepest how great is his depeud- 
ancy on others for happiness. Then it is that he 
yields to sentiments with which he trifled, in the 
wantonness of abundance, and is glad to seek relief 
in the sympathies of his kind. A community of haz- 
ard makes a community of interest, whether person 
or property composes the stake. Perhaps a meta- 
physical, and a too literal, reasoner might add, that, 
as in such situations each one is conscious the con- 
dition and fortunes of his neighbour are the mere 
indexes of his own, they acquire value in his eyes 
from their affinity to himself. If this conclusion be 
true, Providence has happily so constituted the best 
of the species, that the sordid feeling is too latent to 
be discovered ; and least of all was any one of the 
three, who passed the first hours of the night around 
the cabin table of the “ Royal Caroline,” to be in- 
cluded in so selfish a class. The nature of the in- 
tercourse, which had rendered the first hours of their 
acquaintance so singularly equivocal, appeared to be 
forgotten in the freedom of the moment; or, if it 
were remembered at all, it merely served to give the 
young seaman additional interest in the eyes of the 
females, as much by the mystery of the circumstances 
as by the evident concern he had manifested in their 
behalf. 

The bell had struck eight ; and the hoarse long- 
tlrawn call, which summoned the sleepers to the 
deck, was heard, before either of the party seemed 
aware of the lateness of the hour. 

“ It is the middle watch,” said Wilder, smiling as 
he observed that Gertrude started at the strange 
sounds, and sat listening, like a timid doe that catch- 
es the note of the hunter’s horn. “We seamen are 


224 


THE RED ROVER. 


not always musical, as you may judge by the strains 
of the spokesman on this occasion. There are, 
however, ears in the ship to whom his notes are even 
more discordant than to your own.” 

“ You mean the sleepers ?” said Mrs Wyllys. 

“ I mean the watch below. There is nothing so 
sweet to the foremast mariner as his sleep ; for it is 
the most precarious of all his enjoyments : on the 
other hand, perhaps, it is the most treacherous com- 
panion the Commander knows.” 

“ And why is the rest of the superior so much less 
grateful than that of the common man ?” 

“ Because he pillows his head on responsibility.” 

“ You are young, Mr Wilder, for a trust like this 
you bear.” 

“ It is a service which makes us all prematurely 
old.” 

“ Then, why not quit it?” said Gertrude, a little 
hastily. 

“ Quit it !” he replied, gazing at her intently, for 
an instant, while he suspended his reply. “It would 
be to me like quitting the air we breathe.” 

“ Have you so long been devoted to your profes- 
sion ?” resumed Mrs Wyllys, bending her thought- 
ful eye, from the ingenuous countenance of her 
pupil, once more towards the features of him she 
addressed. 

“ 1 have reason to think I was born on the sea.” 

“ Think ! You surely know your birth-place.” 

“We are all of us dependant on the testimony of 
others,” said Wilder, smiling, “ for the account of 
that important event. My earliest recollections are 
bleiided with the sight of the ocean, and I can hardly 
say that I am a creature of the land at all.” 

“ You have, at least, been fortunate in tliose who 
have had the charge to watch over your education, 
and your younger days.” 

“I have!” he answered, with strong emphasis. 


THE RED ROVER. 


m 

Then, after shading his face an instant with his 
hands, he arose, and added, with a melancholy 
smile : “ And now to my last duty for the twenty 
four hours. Have you a disposition to look at the 
night ? So skilful and so stout a sailor should not 
seek her birth, without passing an opinion on the 
weather.” 

The governess took his offered arm, and, with his 
aid, ascended the stairs of the cabin in silence, each 
seemingly finding sufficient employment in medita- 
tion. She was followed by the more youthful, and 
therefore more active Gertrude, who joined them, 
as they stood together, on the weather side of the 
quarter-deck. 

The night was rather misty than dark. A full and 
bright moon had arisen; but it pursued its path, 
through the heavens, behind a body of dusky clouds, 
that was much too dense for any borrowed rays to 
penetrate. Here and there, a straggling gleam ap- 
peared to find its way through a covering of vapour 
less dense than the rest, and fell upon the water like 
the dim illumination of a distant taper. As the wind 
was fresh and easterly, the sea seemed to throw up- 
ward, from its agitated surface, more light than it re- 
ceived ; long lines of white, glittering foam follow- 
ing each other, and lending, at moments, a distinct- 
ness to the surface of the waters, that the heavens 
themselves wanted. The ship was bowed low on 
its side ; and, as it entered each rolling swell of the 
ocean, a wide crescent of foam was driven ahead, 
as if the element gambolled along its path. But, 
though the time was propitious, the wind not abso- 
lutely adverse, and the heavens rather gloomy than 
threatening, an uncertain (and, to a landsman, it 
might seem an unnatural) light gave to the view a 
character of the wildest loneliness. 

Gertrude shuddered, on reaching the deck, while 
she murmured an expression of strange delight. 


226 


the !lED ROVER. 


Even Mrs Wyllys gazed upon the dark waves, that 
were heaving and setting in the horizon, around 
which was shed most of that radiance that seemed 
so supernatural, with a deep conviction that she was 
now entirely in the hands of the Being who had 
created the waters and the land. But Wilder look- 
ed upon the scene as one fastens his gaze on a placid 
sky. To him the view possessed neither novelty, 
nor dread, nor charm. Not so, however, with his 
more youthful and slightly enthusiastic companion. 
After the first sensations of awe had a little subsided, 
she exclaimed, in the fullest ardour of admiration, — 

“ One such sight would repay a month of impris- 
onment in a ship ! You must find deep enjoy n ent 
in these scenes, Mr Wilder ; you, who have tl ern 
always at command.” 

“ Yes, yes ; there is pleasure to be found in them, 
without doubt. I would that the wind had veer’d 
a point or two ! I like not that sky, nor yonder mis- 
ty horizon, nor this breeze hanging so dead at east.” 

“ The vessel makes great progress,” returned Mrs 
Wyllys, calmly, observing that the young man spoke 
without consciousness, and fearing the effect of his 
words on the mind of her pupil. “ If we are going 
on our course, there is the appearance of a quick 
and prosperous passage.” 

“ True !” exclaimed Wilder, as though he had just 
become conscious of her presence. “ Quite proba- 
ble, and very true. Mr Earing, the air is getting too 
neavy for that duck. Hand all your top-gallant sails, 
and haul the ship up closer. Should the wind hang 
here at east- with-southing, we may want what offing 
we can get.” 

The mate replied in the prompt and obedient 
manner which seamen use to their superiors ; and, 
after scanning the signs of the weather for a moment, 
he promptly proceeded to see the order executed. 
While .the men were on the yards furling the light 


THE RED ROVER. 


227 


canvas, the females walked apart, leaving the young 
Commander to the uninterrupted discharge of his 
duty. But Wilder, so far from deeming it necessary 
to lend his attention to so ordinary a service, the mo- 
ment after he had spoken, seemed perfectly uncon- 
scious that the mandate had issued from his mouth. 
He stood on the precise spot where the view of the 
ocean and the heavens had first caught his eye, and 
his gaze still continued fastened on the aspect of the 
two elements. His look was always in the direction 
of the wind, which, though far from a gale, often 
fell upon the sails of the ship in heavy and sullen 
puffs. After a long and anxious examination, the 
young mariner muttered his thoughts to himself, and 
commenced pacing the deck with rapid footsteps. 
Still he would make sudden and short pauses, and 
again rivet his gaze on the point of the compass 
whence the blasts came sweeping across the waste 
of waters ; as though he distrusted the weather, and 
would fain cause his keen glance to penetrate the 
gloom of night, in order to relieve some painful 
doubts. At length his step became arrested, in one 
of those quick turns that he made at each end of his 
narrow walk. Mrs Wyllys and Gertrude stood nigh, 
and were enabled to read something of the anxious 
character of his countenance, as his eye became 
suddenly fastened on a distant point of the ocean, 
though in a quarter exactly opposite to that whither 
his former looks had been directed. 

“Do you so much distrust the weather?” asked 
the governess, when she thought his examination 
had endured long enough to become ominous of evil. 

“ One looks not to leeward for the signs of the 
weather, in a breeze like this,” was the answer. 

“ What see you, then, to fasten your eye on thus 
intently ?” 

Wilder slowly raised his arm, and was about to 


228 


THE RED ROVER. 


point with his finger, when the limb suddenly fell 
again. 

“ It was delusion !” he muttered, turning quickly 
on his heel, and pacing the deck still more rapidly 
than ever. 

His companions watched the extraordinary, and 
apparently unconscious, movements of the young 
Commander, with amazement, and not without a 
little secret dismay. Their own looks wandered 
over the expanse of troubled water to leeward, but 
nowhere could they see more than the tossing ele- 
ment, capped with those ridges of garish foam which 
served only to make the chilling waste more dreary 
and imposing. 

“We see nothing,” said Gertrude, when Wilder 
again stopped in his walk, and once more gazed, as 
before, on the seeming void. 

“ Look !” he answered, directing their eyes with 
his finger : “ Is there nothing there ?” 

“ Nothing.” 

“ You look into the sea. Here, just where the hea- 
vens and the waters meet ; along that streak of misty 
light, into which the waves are tossing themselves, 
like little hillocks on the land. There ; now ’tis 
smooth again, and my eyes did not deceive me. By 
heavens, it is a ship !” 

“ Sail, ho !” shouted a voice, from out atop, which 
sounded in the ears of our adventurer like the 
croaking of some sinister spirit, sweeping across the 
deep. 

“ Whereaway ?” was the stern demand. 

“ Here on our lee-quarter, sir,” returned the sea- 
man, at the top of his voice. “ I make her out a 
ship close-hauled ; but, for an hour past, she has 
looked more like mist than a vessel.” 

“Ay, he is right,” muttered Wilder; “and yet 
His a strange thing that a ship should be just there.” 


THE RED ROVER. 


229 


‘‘And why stranger than that we are here?” 

“ Why !” said the young man, regarding Mrs 
W yllys, who had put this question, with a perfectly 
unconscious eye. “ I say, ’tis strange she should be 
there. I would she were steering northward.” 

“ But you give no reason. Are we always to have 
warnings from you,” she continued, with a smile, 
“ without reasons ? Do you deem us so utterly un- 
worthy of a reason ? or do you think us incapable 
of thought on a subject connected with the sea? 
You have failed to make the essay, and are too quick 
to decide. Try us this once. We may possibly de- 
ceive your expectations.” 

Wilder laughed faintly, and bowed, as if he re- 
collected himself. Still he entered into no explana- 
tion ; but again turned his gaze on the quarter of the 
ocean where the strange sail was said to be. The 
females followed his example, but ever with the 
same vVant of success. As Gertrude expressed her 
disappointment aloud, the soft tones of the com- 
plainant found their way to the ears of our adven- 
turer. 

“ You see the streak of dim light,” he said, again 
pointing across the waste. “ The clouds have lifted 
a little there, but the spray of the sea is floating be- 
tween us and the opening. Her spars look like the 
delicate work of a spider, against the sky, and yet 
you see there are all the proportions, with the three 
masts, of a noble ship.” 

Aided by these minute directions, Gertrude at 
length caught a glimpse of the faint object, and soon 
succeeded in giving the true direction to the look of 
her governess also. Nothing was visible but the dim 
outline, not unaptly described by Wilder himself as 
resembling a spider’s web. 

“ It must be a ship !” said Mrs Wyllys 5 “ but at a 
vast distance.” 

VoL. 1. 


U 


230 


THE RED ROVER. 


“ Hum ! Would it were farther. I could wish that 
vessel any where but there.” 

“ And why not there ? Have you reason to dread 
an enemy has been waiting for us in this particular 
spot?” 

“ No : Still I like not her position. W ould to God 
she were going north !” 

“ It is some vessel from the port of New York, 
steering to his Majesty’s islands in the Caribbean 
sea.” 

“ Not so,” said Wilder, shaking his head ; “ no 
vessel, from under the heights of Never-sink, could 
gain that offing with a Wind like this !” 

“ It is then some ship going into the same place, 
or perhaps bound for one of the bays of the Middle 
Colonies !” 

“ Her road would be too plain to* be mistaken. 
See ; the stranger is close upon a wind.” 

‘‘ It may be a trader, or a cruiser coming from 
one of the places I have named.” 

“ Neither. The wind has had too much northing, 
the last two days, for that.” 

“ It is a vessel that we have overtaken, and which 
has come out of the waters of Long Island Sound.” 

“ That, indeed, may we yet hope,” muttered Wil- 
der, in a smothered voice. 

The governess, who had put the foregoing ques- 
tions, in order to extract from the Commander of 
the “ Caroline” the information he so pertinaciously 
withheld, had now exhausted all her own know- 
ledge on the subject, and was compelled to await his 
further pleasure in the matter, or resort to the less 
equivocal means of direct interrogation. But the 
busy state of Wilder’s thoughts left her no immedi- 
ate opportunity to pursue the subject. He soon sum- 
moned the officer of the watch to his councils, and 
they consulted together, apart, for many minutes. 


THE RED ROVER. 


231 


The hardy, but far from quick witted, seaman who 
tilled the second station in the ship saw nothing so 
remarkable in the appearance of a strange sail, in 
the precise spot where the dim and nearly aerial 
image of the unknown vessel was still visible ; nor 
did he hesitate to pronounce her some honest trader, 
bent, like themselves, on her purpose of lawful 
commerce. It would seem that his Commander 
thought otherwise, as will appear by the short dia- 
logue that passed between them. 

“Is it not extraordinary that she should be just 
there ?” demanded Wilder, after they had, each in 
turn, made a closer examination of the faint object, 
by the aid of an excellent night-glass. 

“ She would be better off, here,” returned the lit- 
eral seaman, who only had an eye for the nautical 
situation of the stranger; “and we should be none 
the worse for being a dozen leagues more to the 
eastward, ourselves. If the wind holds here at east- 
by-south-half-south, we shall have need of all that 
offing. I got jammed once between Hatteras and 
the Gulf” — 

“ But, do you not perceive that she is where no 
vessel could or ought to be, unless she has run ex- 
actly the same course with ourselves ?” interrupted 
Wilder. “ Nothing, from any harbour south of New 
York, could have such northing, as the wind has 
been ; while nothing, from the Colony of York 
would stand on this tack, if bound east ; or would be 
here, if going southward.” 

The plain-going ideas of the honest mate were 
open to a reasoning which the reader may find a lit- 
tle obscure ; for his mind contained a sort of chart 
of the ocean, to which he could at any time refei, 
with a proper discrimination between the various 
winds, and all the diflferent points of the compass. 
When properly directed, he was not slow to see, as 
a mariner, the probable justice of his young Com- 


The red rover. 


^32 

mander's inferences ; and then wonder, in its turn* 
began to take possession of his more obtuse faculties. 

“ It is downright unnatural, truly, that the fellow 
should be there !” he replied, shaking his head, but 
meaning no more than that it was entirely out of the 
order of nautical propriety ; I see the philosophy 
of what you say. Captain Wilder; and little do I 
know how to explain it. It is a ship, to a mortal 
certainty !” 

“ Of that there is no doubt. But a ship most 
strangely placed !” 

“I doubled the Good-Hope in the year ’46,” con- 
tinued the other, “ and saw a vessel lying, as it might 
be, here, on our weather-bow — which is just oppo- 
site to this fellow, since he is on our lee-quarter — 
but there I saw a ship standing for an hour across 
our fore-foot, and yet, though we set the azimuth, 
not a degree did he budge, starboard or larboard, 
during all that time, which, as it was heavy weather, 
was, to say the least, something out of the common 
order.” 

“ It was remarkable !” returned Wilder, with an 
air so vacant, as to prove that he rather communed 
with himself than attended to his companion. 

“ There are mariners who say that the flying 
Dutchman cruises off that Cape, and that he often 
gets on the weather side of a stranger, and bears 
down upon him, like a ship about to lay him aboard. 
Many is the King’s cruiser, as they say, that has 
turned her hands up from a sweet sleep, when the 
look-outs have seen a double decker coming down 
in the night, with ports up, and batteries lighted ; 
but then this can’t be any such craft as the Dutch- 
man, since she is, at the most, no more than a large 
sloop of war, if a cruiser at all.” 

“ No, no,” said Wilder, “ this can never be the 
Dutchman.” 

“Yon vessel shows no lights; and, for that mat- 


THE RED ROVER. 


233 


ter, she has 'such a misty look, that one might well 
question its being a ship at all. Then, again, the 
Dutchman is always seen to windward, and the 
strange sail we have here lies broad upon our lee- 
quarter !” 

“ It is no Dutchman,” said Wilder, drawing a long 
breath, like a man awaking from a trance. “ Main 
topmast-cross-trees, there !” 

The man who was stationed aloft answered to 
this hail in the customary manner, the short conver- 
sation that succeeded being necessarily maintained 
in shouts, rather than in speeches. 

“ How long have you seen the stranger ?” was the 
first demand of Wilder. 

“ I have just come aloft, sir ; but the man I reliev- 
ed tells me more than an hour.” 

“ And has the man you relieved come down ? or 
what is that I see sitting on the lee side of the mast- 
head ?” 

“ ’Tis Bob Brace, sir ; who says he cannot sleep, 
and so he stays upon the yard to keep me com- 
pany.” 

“ Send the man down. 1 would spealc to him.” 

While the wakeful seaman was descending the 
rigging, the two officers continued silent, each seem- 
ing to find sufficient occupation in musing on what 
had alreadj^ passed. 

“ And why are you not in your hammock ?” said 
Wilder, a little sternly, to the man who, in obedience 
to his order, had descended to the quarter-deck. 

“ I am not sleep-bound, your Honour, and there- 
fore 1 had the mind to pass another hour aloft.” 

“ And why are you, who have two night-watches 
to keep already, so willing to enlist in a third ?” 

“ To own the truth, sir, my mind has been a little 
misgiving about this passage, since the moment we 
lifted our anchor.” 

Mrs Wyllys and Gertrude, who were auditors, in- 
U2 


234 


THE RED ROVER. 


sensibly drew nigher, to listen, with a species of in- 
terest which betrayed itself by the thrilling of nerves, 
and an accelerated movement of the pulse. 

“ And you have your doubts, sir exclaimed the 
Captain, in a tone of slight contempt. “ Pray, may 
I ask what you have seen, on board here, to make 
you distrust the ship.’' 

“No harm in asking, your Honour," returned the 
seaman, crushing the hat he held between two hands 
that had a gripe like a couple of vices, “ and so I 
hope there is none in answering. I pulled an oar 
in the boat after the old man this morning, and I 
cannot say I like the manner in which he got from 
the chase. Then, there is something in the ship to 
leeward that comes athwart my fancy like a drag, 
and I confess, your Honour, that 1 should make but 
little headway in a nap, though 1 should try the 
swing of a hammock." 

“ How long is it since you made the ship to lee- 
ward ?" gravely demanded Wilder. 

“ I will not swear that a real living ship has been 
made out at all, sir. Something 1 did see, just be- 
fore the bell struck seven, and there it is, just as 
clear and just as dim, to be seen now by them that 
have good eyes." 

“ And how did she bear when you first saw her ?" 

“ Ttvo or three points more toward the beam 
than it is now." 

“ Then wc are passing her !" exclaimed Wilder, 
with a pleasure too evident to be concealed. 

“ No, your Honour, no. You forget, sir, the ship 
luis come closer to the wind since the middle watch 
was set." 

“True," returned his young Commander, in a 
tone of disappointment ; “ true, very true. And tier 
bearing has not changed since you first made her?" 

“ Not by compass, sir. It is a quick boat that, or 
it would never hold such way with the ‘ Royal 


THE RED ROVER. 


235 


Caroline,’ and that too upon a stiffened bovv-line, 
which every body knows is the real play of this 
ship.” 

“ Go, get you to your hammock. In the morning 
we may have a better look at the fellow.” 

“ And— you hear me, sir,” added the attentive 
mate, “ do not keep the men’s eyes open below, with 
a tale as long as the short cable, but take your own 
natural rest, and leave all others, that have clear 
consciences, to do the same.” 

“ Mr Earing,” said Wilder, as the seaman reluc- 
tantly proceeded towards his place of rest, “we 
will bring the ship upon the other tack, and get 
more easting, while the land is so far from us. 
This course will be setting us upon Hatteras. Be- 
sides” — 

“ Yes, sir,” the mate replied, observing his supe- 
rior to hesitate, “ as you were saying, — besides, no 
one can fore tel the length of a gale, nor the real 
quarter it may come from.” 

“ Precisely. No one can answer for the weather. 
The men are scarcely in their hammocks ; turn them 
up at once, sir, before their eyes are heavy, and we 
will bring the ship’s head the other way.” 

The rhate instantly sounded the well-known cry, 
which summoned the watch below to the assistance 
of their shipmates on the deck. Little delay occurred, 
and not a word was uttered, but the short, authori- 
tative mandates which Wilder saw fit to deliver from 
his own lips. No longer pressed up against the 
wind, the ship, obedient to her helm, gracefully be- 
gan to incline her head from the waves, and to bring 
the wind abeam. Then, instead of breasting and 
mounting the endless hillocks, like a being that toiled 
licavily along its path, she fell into the trough of the 
sea, from which she issued like a courser, who, hav- 
ing conquered an ascent, shoots along the track with 
redoubled velocity. For an instant the wind appear- 


236 


the red rover. 


ed to have lulled, though the wide ridge of foam, 
which rolled along on each side the vessel’s bows', 
sufficiently proclaimed that she was skimming lightly 
before it. In another moment, the tall spars began 
to incline again to the west, and the vessel came 
swooping up to the wind, until her plunges and shocks 
against the seas were renewed as violently as before. 
When every yard and sheet were properly trimmed 
to meet the new position of the vessel. Wilder turn- 
ed anxiously to get a glimpse of the stranger. A 
minute was lost in ascertaining the precise spot 
where he ought to appear; for, in such a ch:ios of 
water, and with no guide but the judgment, tiie eye 
was apt to deceive itself, by referring to the nearer 
and more familiar objects by which the spectator 
was surrounded. 

“ The stranger has vanished !” said Earing, with 
a voice in whose tones mental relief and distrust 
were both, at the same moment, oddly manifesting 
themselves. 

“ He should be on this quarter ; but 1 confess I 
see him not !” 

“ Ay, ay, sir ; this is the way that the midnight 
cruiser otf the Hope is said to come and go. There 
are men who have seen that vessel shut in by a fog, 
in as fine a star-light night as was ever met in a 
southern latitude. But then this cannot be the 
Dutchman, since it is so many long leagues from the 
pitch of the Cape to the coast of North-America. 

“ Here he lies ; and, by heaven ! he has already 
gone about!” cried Wilder. 

The truth of what our young adventurer had just 
affirmed was indeed now sufficiently evident to the 
eye of any seaman. The same diminutive and misty 
tracery, as before, was to be seen on the light back- 
ground of the threatening horizon, looking not unlike 
the faintest shadows cast upon some brighter surface 
by the deception of the phantasmagoria. But to the 


Tttfi RIED ROVER. 


237 


mariners, who so well knew how to distinguish be- 
tween the different lines of her masts, it was very 
evident that her course had been suddenly and dex- 
terously changed, and that she was now steering no 
longer to the south and west, but, like themselves, 
holding her way towards the north-east. The fact 
appeared to make a sensible impression on them 
all ; though probably, had their reasons been sifted, 
they would have been found to be entirely different. 

“ That ship has truly tacked !” Earing exclaimed, 
after a long, meditative pause, and with a voice in 
which distrust, or rather awe, was beginning to get 
the ascendancy. “ Long as I have followed the sea, 
have I never before seen a vessel tack against such 
a head-beating sea. He must have been all shaking 
in the wind, when we gave him the last look, or we 
should not have lost sight of him.” 

“ A lively and quick-working vessel might do it,” 
said Wilder ; ‘‘ especially if strong handed.” 

“ Ay, the hand of Beelzebub is always strong; and 
a light job would he make of it, in forcing even a 
dull craft to sail.” 

“ Mr Earing,” interrupted Wilder, “ we will pack 
upon the ‘ Caroline,’ and try our sailing with this 
taunting stranger. Get the main tack aboard, and 
set the top-gallant-sail.” 

The slow-minded mate would have remonstrated 
against the order, had he dared; but there was that, 
in the calm, subdued, but deep tones of his young 
Commander, which admonished him of the hazard. 
He was not wrong, however, in considering the duty 
he was now to perform as one not without some 
risk. The ship was already moving under quite as 
much canvas as he deemed it prudent to show at 
such an hour, and with so many threatening symp- 
loms of heavier weather hanging about the horizon. 
The necessary orders were, however, repeated as 
promptly as they had been given. The seamen had 


238 


THE RED ROVER* 


already begun to consider the stranger, and to con- 
verse among themselves concerning his appearance 
and situation ; and they obeyed with an alacrity that 
might perhaps have been traced to a secret but com- 
mon wish to escape from his vicinity. The sails 
were successively and speedily set ; and then each 
man folded his arms, and stood gazing steadily and 
intently at the shadowy object to leeward, in order 
to witness the effect of the change. 

The “ Royal Caroline” seemed, like her crew, 
sensible of the necessity of increasing her speed. 
As she felt the pressure of the broad sheets of can- 
vas that had just been distended, the ship bowed 
lower, and appeared to recline on the bed of water 
which rose under her lee nearly to the scuppers. On 
the other side, the dark planks, and polished copper, 
lay bare for many feet, though often washed by the 
waves that came sweeping along her length, green 
and angrily, still capped, as usual, with crests of lu- 
cid foam. The shocks, as the vessel tilted against 
the billows, were becoming every moment more se- 
vere ; and, from each encounter, a bright cloud of 
spray arose, which either fell glittering on the deck, 
or drove, in brilliant mist, across the rolling water, 
far to leeward. 

Wilder long watched the ship, with^an excited 
mien, but with all the intelligence of a seaman. 
Once or twice, when she trembled, and appeared to 
stop, in her violent encounter with a wave, as 
suddenly as though she had struck a rock, his lips 
severed, and he was about to give the order to 
reduce the sail ; but a glance at the misty looking 
image on the western horizon seemed ever to cause 
his mind to change its purpose. Like a desperate 
adventurer, who had cast his fortunes on some haz- 
ardous experiment, he appeared to await the issue 
with a resolution that was as haughty as it was un- 
conquerable. 


THE RED ROVER. 


239 


That top-mast is bending like a \vhip,” muttered 
the careful Earing, at his elbow. 

“ Let it go ; we have spare spars to put in its 
place,” was the answer. 

“ I have always found the ‘ Caroline’ leaky after 
she has been strained by driving her against the sea.” 

“ We have our pumps.” 

“ True, sir; but, in my poor judgment, it is idle 
to think of outsailing a craft that the devil com- 
mands, if he does not altogether handle it.” 

“ One will never know that, Mr Earing, till he 
tries.” 

“We gave the Dutchman a chance of that sort; 
and, I must say, we not only had the most canvas 
spread, but much the hest of the wind : And what 
good did it all do ? there he lay, under his three top- 
sails, driver, and jib ; and we, with studding sails 
alow and aloft, couldn’t alter his bearing a foot.” 

“ The Dutchman is never seen in a northern lati- 
tude.” 

“ Well, I cannot say he is,” returned Earing, in a 
sort of compelled resignation ; “ but he who has put 
that flyer off the Cape may have found the cruise so 
profitable, as to wish to send another ship into these 
seas.” 

Wilder made no reply. He had either humoured 
the superstitious apprehension of his mate enough, 
or his mind was too intent on its principal object, to 
dwell longer on a foreign subject. 

Notwithstanding the seas that met her advance, 
in such quick succession as greatly to retard her pro- 
gress, the Bristol trader had soon toiled her way 
itlirough a league of the troubled element. At every 
plunge she took, the bow divided a mass of water, 
that appeared, at each instant, to become more vast 
and more violent in its rushing ; and more than once 
the struggling hull was nearly buried forward, in 


240 


THE RED ROVER. 


some wave which it had equal difficulty in. mounting 
or penetrating. 

The mariners narrowly watched the smallest move- 
ments of their vessel. Not a man left her deck, for 
hours. The superstitious awe, which had taken such 
deep hold of the untutored faculties of the chief mate, 
had not been slow to extend its influence to the 
meanest of her crew. Even the accident which had 
befallen their former Commander, and the sudden 
and mysterious manner in which the young officer, 
who now trod the quarter-deck, so singularly firm 
and calm, under circumstances deemed so imposing, 
had their influence in heightening the wild impres- 
sion. The impunity with which the “ Caroline” 
bore such a press of canvas, under the circumstances 
in which she was placed, added to their kindling ad- 
miration; and, ere Wilder had determined, in his 
own mind, on the powers of his ship, in comparison 
with those of the vessel that so strangely hung in 
the horizon, he was himself becoming the subject 
of unnatural and revolting suspicions to his own 
crew. 

— *®0©4**— 

CHAPTER XV. 

“ 1’ the name of truth, 

Are ye fantastical, or that indeed 
Which outwardly ye show?” — Macbeth. 

The division of employment that is found in 
Europe, and which brings, in its train, a peculiar and 
corresponding imitation of ideas, has never yet ex- 
isted in our country. If our artisans have, in con- 
sequence, been less perfect in their several handi- 
crafts, they have ever been remarkable for intelli- 
gence of a more general character. Superstition is, 


THE RED ROVER. 


241 


however, a quality that seems indigenous to the ocean. 
Few common mariners are exempt from its influence, 
in a greater or less degree ; though it is found to ex- 
ist, among the seamen of different people, in forms 
that are tempered by their respective national habits 
and peculiar opinions. The sailor of the Baltic has 
his secret rites, and his manner of propitiating the 
gods of the wind ; the Mediterranean mariner tears 
his hair, and kneels before the shrine of some impo- 
tent saint, when his own hand might better do the 
service he implores ; while the more skilful English- 
man sees the spirits of the dead in the storm, and 
hears the cries of a lost messmate in the gusts that 
sweep the waste he navigates. Evert the better in- 
structed and still more reasoning American has not 
been able to shake entirely off the secret influence 
of a sentiment that seems the concomitant of his 
condition. 

There is a majesty, in the might of the great deep, 
that has a tendency to keep open the avenues of that 
dependant credulity which more or less besets the 
mind of every man, however he may have fortified 
his intellect by thought. With the firmament above 
him, and wandering on an interminable waste of wa- 
ter, the less gifted seaman is tempted, at every step 
of his pilgrimage, to seek the relief of some propi- 
tious omen. The few which are supported by scien- 
tific causes give support to the many that have their 
origin only in his own excited and doubting temper- 
ament. The gambols of the dolphin, the earnest and 
busy passage of the porpoise, the ponderous sporting 
of the unwieldy whale, and the screams of the ma- 
rine birds, have all, like the signs of the ancient 
soothsayers, their attendant consequences of good 
or evil. The confusion between things which are 
explicable, and things which are not, gradually brings 
the mind of the mariner to a state in which any ex- 
citing and unnatural sentiment is welcome, if it be 
Voj.. I. X 


242 


THE RED ROVER. 


for no other reason than that, like the vast element 
on which he passes his life, it bears the impression 
of what is thought a supernatural, because it is an 
incomprehensible, power. 

The crew of the “ Royal Caroline” had not even 
the advantage of being natives of a land where ne- 
cessity and habit have united to bring every man’s 
faculties into exercise, to a certain extent at least. 
They were all from that distant island that has been, 
and still continues to be, the hive of nations, which 
arry her name to a time when 



power shall be sought as a 


curiosity, like the remains of a city in a desert. 

The whole events of that day of which we are 
now writing had a tendency to arouse the latent su- 
perstition of these men. It has already been said, 
that the calamity which had befallen their former 
Commander, and the manner in which a stranger 
had succeeded to his authority, had their influence in 
increasing their disposition to doubt. The sail to 
leeward appeared most inopportunely for the char- 
acter of our adventurer, who had not yet enjoyed a 
fitting opportunity to secure the confidence of his 
inferiors, before such untoward circumstances occur- 
red as threatened to deprive him of it for ever. 

There has existed but one occasion for introducing 
to the reader the mate who filled the station in the 
ship next to that of Earing. He was called Night- 
head ; a name that was, in some measure, indicative 
of a certain misty obscurity that beset his superior 
member. The qualities of his mind may be appre- 
ciated by the few reflections he saw fit to make on 
the escape of the old mariner whom Wilder had in- 
tended to visit with a portion of his indignation. This 
individual, as he was but one degree removed from 
the common men in situation, ^o was he ever}^ way 
qualified to maintain that association with the crew 
which was, in some measure, necessary between 


THE RED ROVER. 


243 


them. His influence among them was commensurate 
to his opportunities of intercourse, and his sentiments 
were very generally received with a portion of that 
deference which is thought to be due to the opinions 
of an oracle. 

After the ship had been worn, and during the time 
that Wilder, with a view to lose sight of his unwel- 
come neighbour, was endeavouring to urge her 
through the seas in the manner already described, 
this stubborn and mystified tar remained in the waist 
of the vessel, surrounded by a few of the older and 
more experienced seamen, holding converse on the 
remarkable appearance of the phantom to leeward, 
and of the extraordinary manner in which their un- 
known officer saw fit to attest the enduring qualities 
of their own vessel. We shall commence our rela- 
tion of the dialogue at a point where Nighthead saw 
fit to discontinue his distant inuendos, in order to 
deal more directly with the subject he had under 
discussion. 

“ 1 have heard it said, by older sea-faring men 
than any in this ship,” he continued, “ that the devil 
has been known to send one of his mates aboard a 
lawful trader, to lead her astray among shoals and 
quicksands, in order that he might make a wreck, 
and get his share of the salvage, among the souls of 
the people. What man can say who gets into the 
cabin, when an unknown name stands first in the 
shipping list of a vessel ?” 

“ The stranger is shut in by a cloud !” exclaimed 
one of the mariners, who, while he listened to the 
philosophy of his officer, still kept an eye riveted on 
the mysterious object to leeward. 

“ Ay, ay ; it would occasion no surprise to see thac 
craft steering into the moon ! Luck is like a fly- 
block and its yard : when one goes up, the other 
comes down. They say the red-coats ashore have 
had their turn of fortune, and it is time we honest 


244 


THE RED hOVER. 


seamen look out for our squalls. I have doubled 
the Horn, brothers, in a King’s ship, and I have seen 
the bright cloud that never sets, and have held a 
living corposant in my own hand : But these are 
things which any man may look on, who will go upon 
a yard in a gale, or ship aboard a Southseaman : Still, 

I pronounce it uncommon for a vessel to see her 
shadow in the Jiaze, as we have ours at this moment ; 
for there it comes again ! — hereaway, between the 
after-shroud and the backstay — or for a trader to 
carry sail in a fashion that would make every knee 
in a bomb-ketch work like a tooth-brush fiddling 
across a passenger’s mouth, after he had had a smart 
bout with the sea sickness.” 

“ And yet the lad holds the ship in hand,” said the 
oldest of all the seamen, who kept his gaze fastened 
on the proceedings of Wilder; “he is driving her 
through it in a mad manner, I will allow ; but yet, 
so far, he has not parted a yarn.” 

“Yarns!” repeated the mate, in a tone of strong 
contempt; “ what signify yarns, when the whole ca- 
ble is to snap, and in such a fashion as to leave no 
hope for the anchor, except in a buoy rope ? Hark 
ye, old Bill; the devil never finishes his jobs by 
halves : What is to happen will happen bodily ; and 
no easing-off,' as if you were lowering the Captain’s 
lady into a boat, and he on deck to see fair play.” 

“ Mr Nighthead knows how to keep a ship’s reck- 
oning in all weathers I” said another, whose manner 
sufficiently announced the dependance he himself 
placed on the capacity of the second mate. 

“ And no credit to me for the same. I have seen 
all services, and handled every rig, from a lugger to 
a double-decker I Few men can say more in their 
own favour than myself ; for the little I know has 
been got by much hardship, and small schooling. 
But what matters information, or even seamanship, 
against witchcraft, or the workings of one whom I 


THE RED ROVER. 


245 


don’t choose to name, seeing that there is no use in 
offending any gentleman unnecessarily? I say, broth- 
ers, that this ship is packed upon in a fashion that 
no prudent seaman ought to, or would, allow.” 

A general mumiur announced that most, if not all, 
of his hearers accorded in his opinion. 

“ Let us examine calmly and reasonably, and in a 
manner becoming enlightened Englishmen, into the 
whole state of the case,” the mate continued, cast- 
ing an eye obliquely over his shoulder, perhaps to 
make sure that the individual, of whose displeasure 
he stood in such salutary awe, was not actually at 
his elbow. “We are all of us, to a man, native-born 
islanders, without a drop of foreign blood among us; 
not so much as a Scotchman or an Irishman in the 
ship. Let us therefore look into the philosophy of 
this affair, with that sort of judgment which becomes 
our breeding. In the first place, here is honest 
Nicholas Nichols slips from this here water-cask, 
and breaks me a leg ! Now, brothers, I’ve knowfi 
men to fall from tops and yards, and lighter damage 
done. But what matters it, to a certain person, how 
far he throws his man, since he has only to lift a fin- 
ger to get us all hanged ? Then, comes me aboard 
here a stranger, with a look of the colonies about 
him, and none of your plain-dealing, out-and-out, 
smooth English faces, such as a man can cover with 
the flat of his hand.” 

“ The lad is well enough to the eye,” interrupted 
the old mariner. 

“ Ay, therein lies the whole deviltry of this mat- 
ter ! He is good-looking, I grant ye ; but it is not 
such good-looking as an Englishman loves. There 
is a meaning about him that I don’t like ; for I never 
likes too much meaning in a man’s countenance, 
seeing thfat it is not always easy to understand what 
he would be doing. Then, this stranger gets to be 
Master of the ship, or, what is the same thing, next 


246 


THE RED ROVER. 


to Master ; while he who should be on deck giving 
his orders, in a time like this, is lying in his birth un- 
able to tack himself, much less to put the vessel 
about ; and yet no mah can say how the thing came 
to pass.” 

He drove a bargain with the consignee for the 
station, and right glad did the cunning merchant 
seem to get so tight a youth to take charge of the 
‘ Caroline.’ ” 

“ Ah ! a merchant is, like the rest of us, made of 
nothing better than clay; and, what is worse, it is 
seldom that, in putting him together, he is dampened 
with salt water. Many is the trader that has douzed 
Ills spectacles, and shut his account-books, to step 
aside to over-reach his neighbour, and then come 
back to find that he has over-reached himself. Mr 
Bale, no doubt, thought he was doing the clever 
thing for the owners, when he shipped this Mr Wil- 
der ; but then, perhaps, he did not know that the 
vessel was sold to It becomes a plain-go- 

ing seaman to have a respect for all he sails under; 
so I will not, unnecessarily, name the person who, I 
believe, has got, whether he came by it in a fair 
purchase or not, no small right in this vessel.” 

“ I have never seen a ship got out of irons more 
handsomely than he handled the ‘Caroline’ this 
veiy morning.” 

JNighthead now indulged in a low, but what to his 
listeners appeared to be an exceedingly meaning, 
laugh. 

“ When a ship has a certain sort of Captain, one 
is not to be sur}>rised at any thing,” he answered, 
the instant his significant merriment had ceased. 
“ For my own part, I shipped to go from Bristol to 
the Carolinas and Jamaica, touching at Newport 
out and home ; and I will say, boldly, 1 have no wish 
to go any where else. As to backing the ‘ Caroline’ 
from her awkward birth alongside the slaver, why 


TilE RED ROVEP.. 


247 


it was well done; most too well for so young a 
mariner. Had I done the thing myself, it could not 
have been much better. But what think you, broth- 
ers, of the old man in the skiff? There was a 
chase, and an escape, such as few old sea-dogs have 
the fortune to behold ! I have heard of a smuggler 
that was chased a hundred times by his Majesty’s 
cutters, in the chops of the Channel, and which al- 
ways had a fog handy to run into, but out of which 
no man could truly say he ever saw her come again ! 
This skiff may have plied between the land and that 
Guernseyman, for any thing I know to the contrary ; 
but it is not a boat I wish to pull a scull in.” 

“ That was a remarkable flight !” exclaimed the 
elder seaman, whose faith in the character of our ad- 
venturer began to give way gradually, before such 
an accumulation of testimony. 

“ I call it so ; though other men may possibly 
know better than I, who have only followed the wa- 
ter five-and-thirty years. Then, here is the sea get- 
ting up in an unaccountable manner ! and look at 
these rags of clouds, which darken the heavens ! and 
yet there is light enough, coming from the ocean, for 
a good scholar to read by!” • 

“ I’ve often seen the weather as it is now.” 

“ Ay, who has not? It is seldom that any man, 
let him come from what part he will, makes his first 
voyage as Captain. Let who will be out to-night 
upon the water. I’ll engage he has been there before. 
I have seen worse looking skies, and even worse 
looking water, than this ; but 1 never knew any good 
come of either. The night I was wreck’d in the 
bay of” i- 

“In the waist there cried the calm, authorita- 
tive tones of Wilder. 

Had a warning voice arisen from the turbulent 
and rushing ocean itself, it would not have sounded 
more alarming, in the startled ears of the conscious 


248 


the red rover. 


seamen, than this sudden hail. Their young Com- 
mander found it necessary to repeat it, before even 
Nighthead, the proper and official spokesman, could 
muster resolution to answer. 

‘‘Get the fore-top-gallant-sail on the ship, sir,’’ 
continued Wilder, when the customary reply let 
him know that he had been heard. 

The mate and his companions regarded each other, 
for a moment, in dull admiration ; and many a mel- 
ancholy shake of the head was exchanged, before 
one of the party threw himself into the weather-fTg- 
ging, and proceeded aloft, with a doubting mind, in 
order to loosen the sail in cpiestion. 

There was certainly enough, in the desperate man- 
ner with which Wilder pressed the canvas on the 
vessel, to excite distrust, either of his intentions or 
judgment, in the opinions of men less influenced by 
superstition than those it was now his lot to com- 
mand. It had long been apparent to Earing, and 
his more ignorant, and consequently more obstinate, 
brother officer, that their young superior had the 
same desire to escape from the spectral-looking ship, 
which so strangely followed their movements, as 
they had themselves. They only differed in the 
mode ; but this difference was so very material, that 
the two mates consulted together apart, and then 
Earing, something stimulated by the hardy opinions 
of his coadjutor, approached his Commander, with 
the determination of delivering the results of their 
united judgments, with that sort of directness which 
he thought the occasion now demanded. But there 
was that in the steady eye and imposing mien of 
Wilder, that caused him to touch on the dangerous 
subject with a discretion and circumlocution that 
were a little remarkable for the individual. He 
stood watching the effect of the sail recently spread, 
for several minutes, before he even presumed to 
open his mouth. But a terrible encounter, between 


tHE RED ROVER. 


249 


the vessel and a wave that lifted its angry crest ap- 
parently some dozen feet above the approaching 
bows^ gave him courage to proceed, by admonishing 
him afresh of the danger of continuing silent. 

“ I do not see that we drop the stranger, though 
the ship is wallowing through the water so heavily,” 
he commenced, determined to be as circumspect as 
possible in his advances. 

Wilder bent another of his frequent glances on 
the misty object in the horizon, and then turned his 
frowning eye towards the point whence the wind 
proceeded, as if he would defy its heaviest blasts ; 
he, however, made no answer. 

“We have ever found the crew discontented at 
the pumps, sir,” resumed the other, after a pause 
sufficient for the reply he in vain expected ; “ I need 
not tell an officer, who knows his duty so well, that 
seamen rarely love their pumps.” 

“ Whatever I may find necessary to order, Mr 
Earing, this ship’s company will find it necessary to 
execute.” 

There was a deep settled air of authority, in tlie 
manner with which this tardy answer was given, that 
did not fail of its impression. Earing recoiled a step, 
with a submissive manner, and affected to be lost in 
consulting the driving masses of the clouds ; then, 
summoning his resolution, he attempted to renew the 
attack in a different quarter. 

“ Js it your deliberate opinion. Captain Wilder,’ 
he said, using the title to which the claim of our ad- 
venturer might well be questioned, with a view to 
propitiate him ; “ is it then your deliberate opinion, 
that the ‘ Royal Caroline’ can, by any human means, 
be made to drop yonder vessel ?” 

“ I fear not,” returned the young man, drawing a 
breath so long, that all his secret concern seemed 
struggling in his breast for utterance. 


250 


THE RED ROVER. 


And, sir, with proper submission to your better 
education and authority in this ship, I know not. 1 
have often seen these matches tried in my time; and 
well do I know that nothing is gained by straining a 
vessel, with the hope of getting to windward of one 
of these flyers !” 

“ Take you the glass. Earing, and tell me under 
what canvas the stranger holds his way, and what 
may be his distance,” said Wilder, thoughtfully, and 
without appearing to advert at all to what the other 
had just observed. 

The honest and well-meaning mate deposed his 
hat on the quarter-deck, and, with an air of great 
respect, did.a^ he was desired. Nor did he deem it 
necessary to give a precipitate answer to either of 
the interrogatories. When, however, his look had 
been long, grave, and deeply absorbed, he closed the 
glass with the palm of his broad hand, and replied, 
with the manner of one whose opinion was sufli- 
ciently matured. 

“ If yonder sait had been built and fitted like other 
mortal craft,” he said, “ I should not be backward 
in pronouncing her a full-rigged ship, under three 
single-reefed topsails, courses, spanker, and jib.” 

‘‘ Has she no more ?” 

“ To that I would qualify, provided an opportuni- 
ty were given me to make sure that she is, in all re- 
spects, as other vessels are.” 

“ And yet. Earing, with all this press of canvas, 
by the compass we have not left her a foot.” 

“ Lord, sir,” returned the mate, shaking his head, 
like one who was well convinced of the folly of 
such efforts, “ if you should split every cloth in the 
main-course, by carrying on the ship you will never 
alter the bearings of that craft an inch, till the sun 
rises ! Then, indeed, such as have eyes, that are 
good enough, might perhaps see her sailing about 


THE RED ROVER. 


251 


among the clouds ; though it has never been my for- 
tune, be it bad or be it good, to fall in with one of 
these cruisers after the day has fairly dawned.” 

“ And the distance ?” said Wilder ; “ you have not 
yet spoken of her distance.” 

“ That is much as people choose to measure. She 
may be here, nigh enough to toss a biscuit into our 
tops ; or she may be there, where she seems to be, 
hull down in the horizon.” 

“ But, if where she seems to be ?” 

“ Why, she seems to be a vessel of about six hun- 
dred tons ; and, judging from appearances only, a 
man might be tempted to say she was a couple of 
leagues, more or less, under our lee.” 

“ I put her at the same ! Six miles to windward 
is not a little advantage, in a hard chase. By hea- 
vens, Earing, I’ll drive the ‘ Caroline’ out of water, 
but I’ll leave him !” 

“ That might be done, if the ship had wings like 
a curlew, or a sea-gull ; but, as it is, I think we are 
more likely to drive her under.” 

She bears her canvas well, so far. You know 
not what the boat can do, when urged.” 

“ I have seen her sailed in all weathers. Captain 
Wilder, but” 

His mouth was suddenly closed. A vast black 
wave reared itself between the ship and the eastern 
horizon, and came rolling onward, seeming to threat- 
en to ingulf all before it. Even Wilder watched the 
shock with breathless anxiety, conscious, for the mo- 
ment, that he had exceeded the bounds of sound 
discretion in urging his ship so powerfully against 
such a mass of water. The sea broke a few fathoms 
from the bows of the Caroline,” and sent its surge 
in a flood of foam upon her decks. For half a min- 
ute, the forward part of the vessel disappeared, as 
though, unable to mount the swell, it were striving 


252 


THE RED ROVER. 


to go through it, and then she heavily emei^ed, gem- 
med with a million of the scintillating insects of the 
ocean. The ship had stopped, trembling in every 
joint, throughout her massive and powerful frame, 
like some affrighted courser ; and, when she resumed 
her course, it was with a moderation that appeared 
to warn those who governed her movements of their 
indiscretion. 

Earing faced his Commander in silence, perfectly 
conscious that nothing he could utter contained an ar- 
gument like this. The seamen no longer hesitated to 
mutter their disapprobation aloud, and many a pro- 
phetic opinion was ventured concerning the conse- 
quences of such reckless risks. To all this Wilder 
turned a deaf or an insensible ear. Firm in his own 
secret purpose, he would have braved a greater haz- 
ard, to accomplish his object. But a distinct though 
smothered shriek, from the stern of the vessel, re- 
minded him of the fears of others. Turning quickly 
on his heel, he approached the still trembling Ger- 
trude and her governess, who had both been, through- 
out the whole of those long and tedious hours, inob- 
trusive, hut deeply interested, observers of his small- 
est movements. 

“ The vessel bore that shock so well, I have great 
reliance on her powers,” he said in a soothing voice, 
but- with words that were intended to lull her into a 
blind security. With a firm ship, a thorough seaman 
is never at a loss !” 

Mr Wilder,” returned the governess, “ I have 
seen much of this terrible element on wdnch you 
live. It is therefore vain to think of deceiving me. 
I know that you are urging the ship beyond what 
is usual. Have you sufficient motive for this hardi- 
hood ?” 

“ Madam, — I have !” 

‘‘ And is it, like so many of your motives, to con- 


THE RED ROVER. 


253 


tinue locked for ever in your own breast? or may 
we, who are equal participators in its consequences, 
claim to share equally in the reason ?” 

“ Since you know so much of the profession,” re- 
turned the young man, slightly laughing, but in tones 
that were rendered perhaps more alarming by the 
sounds produced in the unnatural effort, “ you need 
not be told, that, in order to get a ship to windward, 
it is necessary to spread her canvas.” 

“You can, at least, answer one of my questions 
more directly : Is this wind sufficiently favourable to 
pass the dangerous shoals of the Hatteras ?” 

“ I doubt it.” 

“ Then, why not go to the place whence we 
came ?” 

“ Will you consent to return ?” demanded the 
youth, with the swiftness of thought. 

“ I would go to my father,” said Gertrude, with a 
rapidity so nearly resembling his own, that the ar- 
dent girl appeared to want breath to utter the little 
she said. 

“ And I am willing, Mr Wilder, to abandon the 
ship entirely,” calmly resumed the governess. “ I 
require no explanation of all your mysterious warn- 
ings ; restore us to our friends in Newport, and no 
further questions shall ever be asked.” 

“ It might he done !” muttered our adventurer ; 
“ it might be done ! — A few busy hours would do it, 
with this wind. — Mr Earing !” — 

The mate was instantly at his elbow. Wilder 
pointed to the dim object to leeward ; and, handing 
him the glass, desired that he would take another 
view. Each looked, in his turn, long and closely. 

“ He shows no more sail !” said the Commander 
impatiently, when his own prolonged gaze was 
ended. 

“ Not a cloth, sir. But what matters it, to such a 

voL. I. y 


254 


THE RED ROVER. 


craft, how much canvas is spread, or how the wind 
blows 

“ Earing, I think there is too much southing in 
this breeze ; and there is more brewing in yonder 
streak of dusky clouds on our beam. Let the ship 
fall off a couple of points, or more, and take the 
strain off the spars, by a pull upon the weather 
braces.” 

The simple-minded mate heard the order with an 
astonishment he did not care to conceal. There 
needed no explanation, to teach his experienced fa- 
culties, that the effect would be to go over the same 
track they had just passed, and .that it was, in sub- 
stance, abandoning the objects of the voyage. He 
presumed to defer his compliance, in order to re- 
monstrate. 

“ I hope there is no offence for an elderly seaman, 
like myself. Captain Wilder, in venturing an opinion 
on the weather,” he said. “ When the pocket of 
the owner is interested, my judgment approves of 
going about, for 1 have no taste for land that the 
wind blows on, instead of off. But, by easing the 
ship with a reef or two, she would be jogging sea- 
ward ; and all we gain would be clear gain ; because 
it is so much off the Hatteras. Besides, who can 
say that to-morrow, or the next day, we sha’n’t have 
a puff out of America, here at north-west ?” 

“ A couple of points fall off, and a pull upon your 
weather braces,” said Wilder, with startling quick- 
ness. 

It would have exceeded the peaceful and submis- 
sive temperament of flic honest Earing, to have delay- 
ed any longer. The orders were given to the inferi- 
ors; and, as a matter of course, they were obeyed — 
though ill-suppressed and portentous sounds of dis- 
content, at the undetermined, and seemingly unrea- 
sonable, changes in their officer’s mind, might have 


THE RED ROVER. 


255 


been heard issuing from the mouths of Nighttiead, 
and other veterans of the crew. 

But to all these symptoms of disaffection Wilder 
remained, as before, utterly indifferent. If he heard 
them at all, he either disdained to yield them any 
notice, or, guided by a temporizing policy, he chose 
to appear unconscious of their import. In the mean 
time, the vessel, like a bird whose wing had wearied 
with struggling against the tempest, and which in- 
clines from the gale to dart along an easier course, 
glided swiftly away, quartering the crests of the 
waves, or sinking gracefully into their troughs, as 
she yielded to the force of a wind that was now 
made to be favourable. The sea rolled on, in a direc- 
tion that was no longer adverse to her course ; and, 
as she receded from the breeze, the quantity of sail 
she had spread was no longer found trying to her 
powers of endurance. Still she had, in the opinion 
of all her crew, quite enough canvas exposed to a 
night of such a portentous aspect. But not so, in 
the judgment of the stranger who was charged with 
the guidance of her destinies. In a voice that still 
admonished his inferiors of the danger of disobedi- 
ence, he commanded several broad sheets of stud- 
ding-sails to be set, in quick succession. Urged by 
these new impulses, the ship went careering over 
the waves ; leaving a train of foam, in her track, 
that rivalled, in its volume and brightness, the tumb- 
ling summit of the largest swell. 

When sail after sail had been set, until even Wil- 
der was obliged to confess to himself that the “ Roy- 
al Caroline,” staunch as she was, would bear no 
more, our adventurer began to pace the deck again, 
and to cast his eyes about him, in order to watch the 
fruits of his new experiment. The change in the 
course of the Bristol trader had made a correspond- 
ing change in the apparent direction of the stranger, 
who yet floated in the Horizon like a diminutive and 


256 


THE REi3 rover. 


misty shadow. Still the unerring compass told the 
watchful mariner, that she continued to maintain the 
same relative position as when first seen. No effort, 
on the part of Wilder, could apparently alter her 
bearing an inch. Another hour soon passed away, 
during which, as the log told him, the “ Caroline” had 
rolled through more than three leagues of water, and 
still there lay the stranger in the west, as though it 
were merely a lessened shadow of herself, cast by 
the “ Caroline” upon the distant and dusky clouds. 
An alteration in his course exposed a broader sur- 
face of his canvas to the eyes of the spectators, but 
irt nothing else vvas there any visible change. If his 
sails had been materially increased, the distance and 
the obscurity prevented even the understanding Ear- 
ing from detecting it. Perhaps the excited mind of 
the worthy mate was too much disposed to believe 
in the miraculous powers possessed by his unac- 
countable neighbour, to admit of the full exercise 
of his experienced faculties on the occasion; but 
even Wilder, who vexed his sight, in often-repeated 
examinations, was obliged to confess to himself, that 
the stranger seemed to glide, across the waste of 
waters, more like a body floating in the air, than a 
ship resorting to the ordinary expedients of mariners. 

Mrs Wyllys and her charge had, by this time, re- 
tired to their cabin ; the former secretly felicitating 
herself on the prospect of soon quitting a vessel that 
had commenced its voyage under such sinister cir- 
cumstances as to have deranged the equilibrium of 
even her well-governed and highly-disciplined mind. 
Gertrude was left in ignorance of the change. To 
her uninstructed eye, all appeared the same on the 
wilderness of the ocean ; Wilder having it in liis 
power to alter the direction of his vessel as often as 
he pleased, without his fairer and more youthful 
passenger being any the wiser for the same. 

Not so, however, with the intelligent Commander 


THE RED ROVER. 


of the “ Caroline” himself. To him there was nei- 
ther obscurity nor doubt, in the midst of his mid- 
night path. His eye had long been familiar with 
every star that rose from out the waving bed of the 
sea, to set in another dark and ragged outline of the 
element ; nor was there a blast, that swept across 
the ocean, that his burning cheek could not tell from 
what quarter of the heavens it poured out its power. 
He knew, and understood, each inclination made by 
the bows of his ship ; his mind kept even pace with 
her windings and turnings, in all her trackless wan- 
derings ; and he had little need to consult any of 
the accessories of his art, to tell him what course to 
steer, or in what manner to guide the movements of 
the nice machine he governed. Still was he unable 
to explain the extraordinary evolutions of the stran- 
ger. His smallest change seemed rather anticipated 
-than followed ; and his hopes of eluding a vigilance, 
that proved so watchful, was baffled by a facility of 
manoeuvring, and a superiority of sailing, that really 
began to assume, even to his intelligent eyes, the 
appearance of some unaccountable agency. 

While our adventurer was engaged in the gloomy 
musings that such impressions were not ill adapted 
to excite, the heavens and the sea began to exhibit 
another aspect. The bright streak which had so 
long hung along the eastern horizon, as though the 
curtain of the firmament had been slightly opened 
to admit a passage for the winds, was now suddenly 
closed ; and heavy masses of blfick clouds began to 
gather in that quarter, until vast volumes of the va- 
pour were piled upon the water, blending the two 
elements in one. On the other hand, the dark can- 
opy lifted in the west, and a long belt of lurid light 
was shed over the view. In this flood of bright and 
portentous mist the stranger still floated, though there 
were moments when his faint and fanciful outlines 
seemed to be melting into thin air 


258 


THE REE ROVER. 


CHAPTER XVI. 

“ Yet again ? What do you here ? Shall wfe giro o’er, and 

drown ? Have” 3'ou a mind to sink ?” — Tempest. 

Our watchful adventurer was not blind to these 
well-known and sinister omens. No sooner did the 
peculiar atmosphere, by which the mysterious image 
that he so often examined was suddenly surrounded, 
catch his eye, than his voice was heard in the clear, 
powerful, and exciting notes of warning. 

“ Stand by,” he called aloud, “ to in all studding 
sails ! Down with them !” he added, scarcely giv- 
ing his former words time to reach the ears of his 
subordinates. “ Down with every rag of them, fore 
and aft the ship ! Man the top-gallant clew-lines, Mr 
bearing. Clew up, and clew down ! In with every 
thing, cheerily, men ! In !” 

This was a language to which the crew of the 

Caroline” were no strangers, and one which v/as 
doubly welcome ; since the meanest seaman of them 
all had long thought that his unknown Commander 
had been heedlessly trifling with the safety of the 
vessel, by the hardy manner in which he disregard- 
ed the wild symptoms of the weather. But they 
undervalued the keen-eyed vigilance of Wilder. lie 
hud certainly driven the Bristol trader through the 
water at a rate she had never been known to have 
gone before but, thus far, the facts themselves at- 
tested ill his favour, since no injury was the conse- 
quence of what they deemed his temerity. At the 
quick, sudden order just given, however, the whole 
ship was instantly in an uproar. A dozen seamen 
called to each other, from different parts of the ves- 
sel, each striving to lift his voice^bove the roaring 
ocean *, and there was every appearance of a general 


THE KED ROVER. 


259 


and inextricable confusion ; but the same authority 
which had aroused them, thus unexpectedly, into 
activity, produced order, from their ill-directed 
though vigorotis etiorts. 

Wilder had spoken, to awaken the drowsy, and to 
excite the torpid. The instant he found each man 
on the alert, he resumed his orders, with a calmness 
tliat gave a direction to the powers of all, but still 
with an energy that he well knew was called for by 
the occasion. The enormous sheets of duck, which 
hful looked like so many light clouds in the murky 
and threatening heavens, were soon seen fluttering 
wildly, as they descended from their high places; 
and, in a few^ minutes, the ship was reduced to the 
action of her more secure and heavier canvas. To 
cfl'ect this object, every man in the ship had exerted 
his powers to the utmost, under the guidance of the 
steady but rapid mandates of their Commander. 
Then followed a short and apprehensive breathing 
pause. Every eye was turned towards the quarter 
where the ominous signs had been discovered ; and 
each individual endeavoured to read their import, 
with an intelligence correspondent to the degree of 
skill he might have acquired, during his particular 
period of service, on that treacherous element which 
was now his home. 

The dim tr^ery of the stranger’s form had been 
svvallow’ed by the flood of misty light, which, by this 
time, rolled along the sea like drifting vapour, semi- 
pellucid, preternatural, and seemingly tangible. The 
ocean itself appeared admonished that a quick and 
violent change was nigh. The waves had ceased to 
break in their former foaming and brilliant crests , 
but black masses of the water were seen lifting their 
surly summits against the eastern horizon, no longer 
relieved by their scintillating brightness, or shedding 
their own peculiar and lucid atmosphere around 
them. The breeze which had been s;o fresh, and 


260 


tHE RED ROVER. 


which had even blown, at times, with a force that 
nearly amounted to a little gale, was lulling and be- 
coming uncertain, as though awed by the more vio- 
lent power that was gathering along the borders of 
the sea, in the direction of the neighbouring conti- 
nent. Each moment, the eastern puffs of air lost 
their strength, and became more and more feeble, 
until, in an incredibly short period, the heavy sails 
w-ere heard flapping against the masts — a frightful 
and ominous calm succeeding. At this instant, a 
glancing, flashing gleam lighted the fearful obscurity 
of the ocean; and a roar, like that of a sudden burst 
of thunder, bellowed along the waters. The seamen 
turned their startled looks on each other, and stood 
stupid, as though a warning had been given, from 
the heavens themselves, of what was to follow. But 
their calm and more sagacious Commander put a 
different construction on the signal. His lip curled, 
in high professional pride, and his mouth moved rap- 
idly, while he muttered to himself, with a species of 
scorn, — 

“ Does he think we sleep ? Ay, he has got it him- 
self, and would open our eyes to what is coming ! 
What does he imagine we have been about, since the 
middle watch was set 

Then, Wilder made a swift turn or two on the 
quarter-deck, never ceasing to bend his quick glances 
from one quarter of the heavens to another ; from 
the black and lulling water on which his vessel was 
rolling, to the sails ; and from his silent and profound- 
ly expectant crew, to the dim lines of spars that were 
waving above his head, like so many pencils tracing 
their curvilinear and wanton images over the murky 
volumes of the superincumbent clouds. 

“ Lay the after-yards square !” he said, in a voice 
which was heard by every man on deck, though his 
words were apparently spoken but little above his 
breath. Even the creaking of the blocks, as the 


THE RED ROVER. 


261 


J5pars came slowly and heavily round to the indicated 
position, contributed to the imposing character of 
the moment, and sounded, in the ears of all the in- 
structed listeners, like notes of fearful preparation. 

“ Haul up the courses !” resumed Wilder, after a 
thoughtful, brief interval, with the same eloquent 
calmness of manner. Then, taking another glance 
at the threatening horizon, he added, with emphasis, 
“ Furl them — furl them both : Away aloft, and hand 
your courses,” he continued, in a shout; “roll them 
up, cheerily ; in with them, boys, cheerily ; in !” 

The conscious seamen took their impulses from 
the tones of their Commander. In a moment, twen- 
ty dark forms were seen leaping up the rigging, with 
the alacrity of so many quadrupeds ; and, in another 
minute, the vast and powerful sheets of canvas were 
effectually rendered harmless, by securing them in 
tight rolls to their respective spars. The men de- 
scended as swiftljas they had mounted to the yards; 
and then succeeded another short and breathing 
pause. At this moment, a candle would have sent 
its flame perpendicularly towards the heavens. The 
ship, missing the steadying power of the wind, roll- 
ed heavily in the troughs of the seas, which, how- 
ever, began to be more diminutive, at each instant ; 
as though the startled element was recalling, into the 
security of its own vast bosom, that portion of its 
particles, which had, just before, been permitted to 
gambol so madly over its surface. I'lie water wash- 
ed sullenly along the side of the ship, or, as she la- 
bouring rose from one of her frequent falls into the 
hollows of the waves, it shot back into the ocean 
from her decks, in numberless little glittering cas- 
cades. Every hue of the heavens, every sound of 
the element, and each dusky and anxious countenance 
that was visible, helped to proclaim the intense in- 
terest of the moment. It was in this brief interval 


262 


THE RED ROVER. 


of expectation, and inactivity, that the mates again 
approached their Commander. 

“ It is an awful night. Captain Wilder !” said Ear- 
ing, presuming on his rank to be the first of the two 
to speak. 

“ I have known far less notice given of a shift of 
wind,” was the steady answer. 

“ We have had time to gather in our kites, ’tis 
true, sir ; but there are signs and warnings, that come 
with this change, at which the oldest seaman has 
reason to take heed !” 

“Yes,” continued Nighthead, in a voice that sound- 
ed hoarse and powerful, even amid the fearful acces- 
sories of that scene; “yes, it is no trifling commis- 
sion that can call people, that I shall not name, out 
upon the water in such a night as this. It was in 
just such weather that I saw the ‘ Vesuvius’ ketch 
go to a place so deep, that her own mortar would 
not have been able to have sent a bomb into the 
open air, had hands and fire been there fit to let it 
off!” 

“ Ay ; and it was in such a time that the Green- 
landman was cast upon the Orkneys, in as flat a calm 
as ever lay on the sea.” 

“ Gentlemen,” said Wilder, with a peculiar and 
perhaps an ironical emphasis on the word, “ what is 
it you would have? There is not a breath of air 
stirring, and the ship is naked to her topsails !” 

It would have been difficult for either of the two 
malcontents to have given a very satisfactory answer 
to this question. Both were secretly goaded by 
mysterious and superstitious apprehensions, that 
were powerfully aided by the more real and intelli- 
gible aspect of the night ; hut neither had so far for- 
gotten his manhood, and his professional pride, as to 
lay bare the full extent of his own weakness, at a 
moment when he was liable to be called upon for 


THE RED ROVER. 


263 


the exhibition of qualities of a far more positive and 
determined character. Still, the feeling that was 
uppermost betrayed itself in the reply of Earing, 
though in an indirect and covert manner. 

“ Yes, the vessel is snug enough now,” he said, 
“ though eye-sight has shown us all it is no easy mat- 
ter to drive a freighted ship though the water as fast 
as one of your flying craft can go, aboard of which 
no man can say, who stands at the helm, by what 
compass she steers, or w’hat is her draught !” 

“ Ay,” resumed Nighthead, “ 1 call the ‘ Caroline’ 
fast for an honest trader, and few square-rigged boats 
arc there, who do not wear the pennants of the King, 
that can eat her out of the wind, or bring her into 
their wake, with studding-sails abroad. But this is 
a time, and an hour, to make a seaman think. Look 
at yon hazy light, here, in with the land, that is 
coming so fast down upon us, and then tell me 
whether it comes from the coast of America, or 
whether it comes from out of the stranger who has 
been so long running under our lee, but who has 
got, or is fast getting, the wind of us at last, and yet 
none here can say how, or why. I have just this 
much, and no more, to say : Give me for consort a 
craft whose Captain I know, or give me none !” 

“ Such is your taste, Mr Nighthead,” said Wilder, 
coldly ; “ mine may, by some accident, be v^ry dif- 
ferent.” 

“ Yes, yes,” observed the more cautious and pru- 
dent Earing, “ in time of war, and with letters of 
marque aboard, a man may honestly hope the sail 
he sees should have a stranger for her master ; or 
otherwise he would never fall in with an enemy. But, 
though an Englishman born myself, I should rather 
give the ship in that mist a clear sea, seeing that I 
neither know her nation nor her cruise. Ah, Cap- 
tain Wilder, yonder is an awful sight for the morn- 
ing watch ! Often, and often, have f seen the sun 


264 


THE RED ROVER. 


'rise ill the east, and no harm done ; but little good 
can come of a day when the light first breaks in the 
west. Cheerfully would I give the owners the last 
month’s pay, hard as I have earned it wdth my toil, 
did I but know under what flag yonder stranger 
sails.” 

“ Frenchman, Don, or Devil, yonder he comes ■” 
cried Wilder. Then, turning towards the silent and 
attentive crew, he shouted, in a voice that was ap- 
palling by its vehemence and warning, “ Let run 
the after halyards ! round with the fore-yard ! round 
with it, men, with a will !” 

These were cries that the startled crew perfectly 
understood. Every nerve and muscle Avere exerted 
to execute the orders, in time to be in readiness for 
the approaching tempest. No man spoke ; bnteacli 
expended the utmost of his power and skill in direct 
and manly efforts. Nor was there, in verity, a mo- 
ment to lose, or a particle of human strength expend- 
ed here, without a sutficient object. 

The lucid and fearful-looking mist, which, for the 
last quarter of an hour, had been gathering in the 
north-west, was now driving down upon them with 
the speed of a race-horse. The air had already 
lost the damp and peculiar feeling of an casterl}'^ 
breeze ; and little eddies were beginning to flutter 
among the masts — precursors of the coming squall. 
Then, a rushing, roaring sound was heard moaning 
along the ocean, whose surface was first dimpled, 
next ruffled, and finally covered, with one sheet of 
clear, white, and spotless foam. At the next mo- 
ment, the power of the wind fell full upon the inert 
and labouring Bristol trader. 

As the gust approached. Wilder had seized the 
slight opportunity, afforded by the changeful puffs ol' 
air, to get the ship as much as possible before the 
wind ; but the sluggish movement of the vessel met 
neither the wishes of his own impatience nor the exi- 


THK RED ROVER. 


265 


gencies of tlie moment. Her bows had slowly and 
heavily fallen off from the north, leaving her precise 
ly in a situation to receive the first shock on her 
broadside. Happy it was, for all who had life at 
risk in that defenceless vessel, that she was not fated 
to receive the whole weight of the tempest at a blow. 
The sails fluttered and trembled on their massive 
yards, bellying and collapsing alternately for a minute, 
and then the rushing wind swept over them in a hur- 
ricane. 

The “ Caroline” received the blast like a stout 
and buoyant ship, yielding readily to its impulse, un- 
til her side lay nearly incumbent on the element in 
which she floated ^ and then, as if the fearful fabric 
were conscious of its jeopardy, it seemed to lift its 
reclining masts again, struggling to work its way 
heavily through the water. 

“ Keep the helm a-weather ! Jam it a-weather, 
for your life !” shouted Wilder, amid tht roar of the 
gust. 

The veteran seaman at the wheel obeyed the 
order with steadiness, but in vain he kept his eyes 
riveted on the margin of his head sail, in order to 
watch the manner the ship would obey its power. 
Twice more, in as many moments, the tall masts fell 
towards the horizon, waving as often gracefully up- 
ward, and then they yielded to the mighty pressure 
of the wind, until the whole machine lay prostrate 
on the water. 

“Reflect!” said Wilder, seizing the bewildered 
Earing by the arm, as the latter rushed madly up 
the steep of the deck ; “ it is our duty to be calm : 
Bring hither an axe.” 

Quick as the thought which gave the order, the 
admonished mate complied, jumping into the miz- 
zen-channels of the ship, to execute, with his own 
hands, the mandate that he well knew' must follow. 

“ Shall I cut?” he demanded, with uplifted arms, 

VOL. I. Z 


266 


THE RED ROVER. 


and in a voice that atoned for his momentary con- 
fusion, by its steadiness and force. 

“ Hold ! Does the ship mind her helm at all ?” 

“ Not an inch, sir.” 

“ Then cut,” Wilder clearly and calmly added. 

A single blow sufficed for the discharge of the 
momentary act. Extended to the utmost powers of 
endurance, by the vast weight it upheld, the lanyard 
struck by Earing no sooner parted, than each of its 
fellows snapped in succession, leaving the mast de- 
pendant on itself alone for the support of all its 
ponderous and complicated hamper. The cracking 
of the wood came next ; and then the rigging fell, 
like a tree that had been sapped at its foundation, 
the little distance that still existed between it and 
the sea. 

“ Does she fall off?” instantly called Wilder to 
the observant seaman at the wheel. 

“ She yielflbd a little, sir; but this new squall is 
bringing her up again.” 

“ Shall I cut ?” shouted Earing from the main rig- 
ging, whither he had leaped, like a tiger who had 
bounded on his prey. 

“ Cut !” was the answer. 

A loud and imposing crash soon succeeded this 
order, though not before several heavy blows had 
been struck into the massive mast itself. As before, 
the seas received the tumbling maze of spars, rig- 
ging, and sails ; the vessel surging, at the same in- 
stant, from its recumbent position, and rolling far 
and heavily to windward. 

“ She rights ! she rights !” exclaimed twenty 
voices, which had been hitherto mute, in a suspense 
that involved life and death. 

“ Keep her dead away !” added the still calm but 
deeply authoritative voice of the young Comman- 
der. “ Stand by to furl the fore-topsail — let it hang 
a moment to drag the ship clear of the wreck — cut, 


THE RED ROVER. 


267 


cut — cheerily, men — hatchets and knives — cut with 
all, and cut off all!’' 

As the men now worked with the freshened vig- 
our of revived hope, the ropes that still confined the 
fallen spars to the vessel were quickly severed ; and 
the ‘‘ Caroline,” by this time dead before the gale, 
appeared barely to touch the foam that covered the 
sea, like a bird that was swift upon the wing skim- 
ming the waters. The wind came over the waste 
in gusts that rumbled like distant thunder, and with 
a power that seemed to threaten to lift the ship and 
its contents from its proper element, to deliver it to 
one still more variable and treacherous. As a pru- 
dent and sagacious seaman had let fly the halyards 
of the solitary sail that remained, at the moment 
when the squall approached, the loosened but low- 
ered topsail was now distended in a manner that 
threatened to drag after it the only mast which still 
stood. Wilder instantly saw the necessity of getting 
rid of this sail, and he also saw the utter impossibil- 
ity of securing it. Calling Earing to his side, he 
pointed out the danger, and gave the necessary order. 

“ Yon spar cannot stand such shocks much longer,” 
he concluded ; “ and, should it go over the bows, 
some fatal blow might be given to the ship at the 
rate she is moving. A man or two must be sent aloft 
to cut the sail from the yards.” 

“ The stick is bending like a willow whip,” return- 
ed the mate, “ and the lower mast itself is sprung. 
There would be great danger in trusting a life in 
that top, while such wild squalls as these are breath- 
ing around us.” 

“You may be right,” returned Wilder, with a 
sudden conviction of the truth of what the other had 
said : “ Stay you then here ; and, if any thing befal 
me, try to get the vessel into port as far north as the 
Capes of Virginia, at least ; — on no account attempt 
Hatteras, in the present condition of” . 


^68 


THE jRED EOVER. 


“What would you do^ Captain Wilder^’* inter- 
rupted the mate, laying his hand powerfully on the 
shoulder of his Commander, who, he observed, had 
already thrown his sea-cap on the deck, and was 
preparing to divest himself of some of his outer gar- 
ments. 

“ I go aloft, to ease the mast of that topsail, with- 
out which we lose the spar, and possibly the ship.” 

“Ay, ay, I see that plain enough ; but, shall it be 
said. Another did the duty of Edward Earing? It 
is your business to carry the vessel into the Capes 
of Virginia, and mine to cut the topsail adrift. If 
harm comes to me, why, put it in the log, with a 
word or two about the manner in which I played my 
part : That is always the best and most proper epi- 
taph for a sailor.” 

Wilder made no resistance, but resumed his watch- 
ful and reflecting attitude, with the simplicity of one 
who had been too long trained to the discharge of 
certain obligations himself, to manifest surprise that 
anotlier should acknowledge their imperative charac- 
ter. In the mean time. Earing proceeded steadily 
to perform what he had just promised. Passing into 
the waist of the ship, he provided himself with a 
suitable hatchet, and then, without speaking a sylla- 
ble to any of the mute but attentive seamen, he 
sprang into the fore-rigging, every strand and rope- 
yarn of which was tightened by the strain nearly to 
snapping. The understanding eyes of his observers 
comprehended his intention ; and, with precisely the 
same pride of station as had urged him to the dan- 
gerous undertaking, four or five of the older mari- 
ners jumped upon the ratlings, to mount with him 
into an air that apparently teemed with a hundred 
hurricanes. 

“Lie down out of that fore-rigging,” shouted 
Wilder, through a deck-trumpet ; “ lie down ; all, but 
the mate, lie down !” His words were borne past 


THE RED ROVER. 


269 


the inattentive ears of the excited and mortified fol- 
lowers of Earing, but they failed of their effect. 
Each man was too much bent on his own earnest 
purpose to listen to the sounds of recall. In less 
than a minute, the whole were scattered along the 
yards, prepared to obey the signal of their officer. 
The mate cast a look about him ; and, perceiving 
that the time was comparatively favourable, he struck 
a blow upon the large rope that confined one of the 
angles of the distended and bursting sail to the lower 
yard. The effect was much the same as would be 
produced by knocking away the key-stone of an ill- 
cemented ai'ch. The canvas broke from all its fast- 
enings with a loud explosion, and, for an instant, was 
seen sailing in the air ahead of the ship, as though sus- 
tained on the wings of an eagle. The vessel rose on 
a sluggish wave — ^the lingering remains of the former 
bi-eezc — and then settled heavily over the rolling 
surge, borne down alike by its own weight and the 
renewed violence of the gusts. At this critical in- 
stant, while the seamen aloft were still gazing in the 
direction in which the little cloud of canvas had 
disappeared, a lanyard of the lower rigging parted 
with a crack that even reached the ears of Wilder. 

“ Lie down !” he shouted fearfully through his 
trumpet; “down by the backstays; down for your 
lives ; every man of you, down !” 

A solitary individual, of them all, profited by the 
warning, and was seen gliding towards the deck with 
the velocity of the wind. But rope parted after 
rope, and the fatal snapping of the wood instantly 
followed. For a moment, the towering maze totter- 
ed, and seemed to wave towards every quarter of 
the heavens ; and then, yielding to the movements 
of the hull, the whole fell, with a heavy crash, into 
the sea. Each cord, lanyard, or stay snapped, when 
it received the strain of its new position, as though 
it had been made of thread, leavjng the naked and 
Z 2 


S70 


THE RED ROVER. 


despoiled hull of the “Caroline” to drive onward 
before the tempest, as if nothing had occurred to 
impede its progress. 

A mute and eloquent pause succeeded this disas- 
ter. It appeared as if the elements themselves were 
appeased by their work, and something like a mo- 
mentary lull in the awful rushing of the winds might 
have been fancied. Wilder sprang to the side of the 
vessel, and distinctly beheld the victims, who still 
clung to their frail support. He even saw Earing 
waving his hand, in adieu, with a seaman’s heart, 
and like a man who not only felt how desperate Vv’as 
his situation, but one wlio knew liow to meet his 
fate with resignation. Then the wreck of spars, 
with all wdio clung to it, was swallov.ed up in tlie 
body of the frightful, preternatural-looking mist 
which extended on every side of them, from the 
ocean to the clouds. 

“ Stand by, to clear away a boat !” shouted 
Wilder, without pausing to think of the impossibility 
of one’s swimming, or of effecting the least good, in 
so violent a toniado. 

But the amazed and confounded seamen who re- 
mained needed not instruction in this matter. Ko 
man moved, nor was the smallest symptom of obe- 
dience given. The mariners looked wildly around 
them, each endeavouring to trace, in the dusky coun- 
tenance of the other, his opinion of the extent of 
the evil ; but not a mouth was opened among them all. 

“ It is too late — it is too late !” murmured Wilder 
to himself; “human skill and human efforts could 
not save them !” 

“ Sail, ho !” Nighthead muttered at his elbow, in 
a voice that teemed with a species of superstitious 
awe. 

“ Let him come on,” returned his young Com- 
mander, bitterly ; “ the mischief is ready finished 
to his hands !” 


THE RED ROVER. 


271 


^ Should yon be a mortal ship, it is our duty to 
the owners and the passengers to speak her, if a 
man can make his voice heard in this tempest,” the 
second mate continued, pointing, through the haze, 
at the dim object tliat was certainly at hand. 

“ Speak her ! — passengers !” muttered Wilder, in- 
voluntarily repeating his words. “ No ; any thing is 
better than speaking her. Do you see the vessel 
that is driving clown upon us so fast he sternly de- 
manded of the watchful seaman who still clung to 
the wheel of tiie “ Caroline.” 

“ Ay, ay, sir,” was the brief, professional reply. 

“ Give her a birth — sheer away hard to port — • 
perhaps he may pass us in the gloom, now we are 
no higher than our decks. Give the ship a broad 
sheer, I say, sir,” 

The same laconic answer as before was given ; 
and, for a few moments, the Bristol trader was seen 
diverging a little from the line in which the other ap- 
proached ; but a second glance assured Wilder that 
the attempt was useless. The strange ship (and 
every man on board felt certain it w'as the same that 
liad so long been seen hanging in the north-western 
horizon) came on, through the mist, with a swiftness 
that nearly equalled the velocity of the tempestuous 
winds themselves. Not a thread of canvas was seen 
on board her. Each line of spars, even to the ta- 
pering and delicate top-gallant-masts, was in its place, 
preserving the beauty and symmetry of the whole 
fabric ; but nowhere was the smallest fragment of a 
sail opened to the gale. Under her bows rolled a 
volume of foam, that was even discernible amid the 
universal agitation of the ocean ; and, as she came 
within sound, the sullen roar of the water might 
have been likened to the noise of a cascade. At 
first, the spectators on the decks of the “ Caroline” 
believed they were not seen, and some of the men 


272 


THE RED ROVER. 


called madly for lights, in order tlTat the disasters of 
the night might not terminate in the dreaded en- 
counter. 

“ No !” exclaimed Wilder ; “ too many see us 
there already !” 

“ No, no,” muttered Nighthead ; “ no fear but we 
are seen ; and by such eyes, too, as never yet look- 
ed out of mortal head !” 

The seamen paused. In another instant, the long- 
seen and mysterious ship was within a hundred feet 
of them. The very power of that wind, which was 
wont usually to raise the billows, now pressed the 
element, with the weight of mountains, into its bed. 
The sea was every where a sheet of froth, but no 
water swelled above the level of the surface. The 
instant a wave lifted itself from the security of the 
vast depths, the fluid was borne away before the^ 
tornado in driving, glittering spray. Along this frothy 
but comparatively motionless surface, then, the stran- 
ger came booming, with the steadiness and grandeur 
with which a dark cloud is seen to sail before the 
hurricane. No sign of life was any where discover- 
ed about her. If men looked out, from their secret 
places, upon the straitened and discomfited wreck 
of the Bristol trader, it was covertly, and as darkly 
as the tempest before which they drove. Wilder 
held his breath, for the moment the stranger drew 
Highest, in the very excess of suspense; but, as he 
saw no signal of recognition, no human form, nor 
any intention to arrest, if possible, the furious career 
of the other, a smile of exultation gleamed across 
his countenance, and his lips moved rapidly, as 
though he found pleasure in being abandoned to his 
distress. The stranger drove by, like a dark vision , 
and, ere another minute, her form was beginning to 
grow less distinct, in a thickening body of the spray 
to leeward. 


THE RED ROVER. 


573 


“ She h §oing out of sight in the mist !” exclaimed 
Wilder, when he drew his breath, after the fearful 
suspense of the few last moments. 

Ay, in mist, or clouds,'^’ responded Nighthead, 
who now kept obstinately at his elbow, watching, 
with the most jealous distrust, the smallest move- 
ment of his unknown Commander. 

“ In the heavens, or in the sea, I care not, provid- 
ed she be gone.’’ 

“ Most seamen would rejoice to see a strange sail, 
from the hull of a vessel shaved to the deck like 
this.” 

“ Men often court their destruction, from igno- 
rance of their own interests. Let him drive on, 
say I, and pray I ! He goes four feet to our one ; 
and now I ask no better favour than that this hurri- 
cane may blow, until the sun shall rise.” 

Nighthead started, and cast an oHique glance, 
which resembled denunciation, at his companion. 
To his blunted faculties, and superstitious mind, 
there was profanity in thus invoking tl^e tempest, at 
a moment when the winds seemed s^lready to be 
pouring out their utmost wrath. , 

“ This is a heavy squall, I will allow,” he said, 
“ and such an one as many mariners pass whole lives 
without seeing but he knows little of the sea who 
thinks there is not more wind where this comes 
from.” 

‘‘ Let it blow !” cried the other, striking his hands 
together a little wildly; “ I pray only for wind!” 

All the doubts of Nighthead, as to the character 
of the young stranger who had so unaccountably got 
possession of the office of Nicholas Nichols, if, in- 
deed, any remained, were now removed. He walk- 
ed forward among the silent and thoughtful crew, 
with the air of a man whose opinion was settled. 
Wilder, however, paid no attention to ffie move- 


THE llED ROVER. 


/ 

274 

n^nts of his subordinate, but continued pacing the 
^eck for hours ; now casting his eyes at the heavens, 
or now sending frequent and anxious glances around 
/ the limited horizon, while the “ Royal Caroline” 
still continued drifting before the wind, a shorn and 
naked wreck. 


END OF VOLUME L 


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